Polk County News
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 29, 2017
OBITUARIES
Robert ‘Bob’
Eugene Taylor
Nov. 11, 1929 – Nov. 16, 2017
Robert “Bob” Eugene Tay-
lor was born on Nov. 11,
1929, in San Pedro, Calif.,
and died
peacefully
in
his
home on
N o v. 1 6 ,
2017, at
the age of
88. In his
last days,
he was
surround-
ed by fam-
ily who he
loved and
laughed
with.
Bob joined the service at
an early age, and quickly at-
tained the elite rating of
jumpmaster in the 82nd Air-
borne Division of the United
States Army. He was honor-
ably discharged in 1957 with
the rank of sergeant first
class. He was very proud to
have served his country, and
was a member of the Ameri-
can Legion.
He married in 1966, and
raised a family in San Pedro.
Their favorite times were
family vacations to Death
Valley for dune-buggy ad-
ventures (he built most of
their dune buggies!), and
annual vacations to a work-
ing ranch in the White
Mountains of Arizona. Fly-
ing small planes was a defi-
nite passion in his life! He
was an extremely intelligent
and humorous man with a
quick and creative mind. A
mechanic by trade, he
opened his own auto shop
in the ’60s, and later in life
worked at Metropolitan
Marianna Elizabeth Peters Quiring
August 3, 1917 - Nov. 18, 2017
Marianna Elizabeth
Peters Quiring died on
Saturday November 18,
2017. Her husband pre-
ceded her in death on
Mar 11, 1981. Her sib-
lings also preceded her
in death. She is survived by her children Julia D. Emblen
(Dallas), Jay and Ruth Quiring (Dallas), and Merrilee and
Frank Carpenter (Hillsboro), grandchildren Jason Quiring,
Aaron Quiring, Karen (Darren) Mans, Lisa (Jamie) Nelson
and Brittany(Dustin) Burch. Great grandchildren include
Rowan Quiring, Riley and Abby Quiring, Tana Diamond
and Eleanor Stone, Brayden, Brody and Brooklyn Mans,
Spencer and Austin Nelson, and Bella and Kinsley Burch.
Marianna graduated as Valedictorian from Dallas High
School in 1935 and married Elvin Quiring in 1936. For all
of her life she was active in church activities including
teaching childrens’ Sunday School classes. She completed
her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Special Education from
what is currently Western Oregon University. She taught
Special Education Reading in Marion and Polk County
Schools. She later was a coffee hostess at Salem Hospital
for over 20 years.
Marianna and Elvin traveled the southern states follow-
ing his retirement from Quiring Printing Company. Mari-
anna assisted Elvin in building homes in the Dallas and
Salem areas. Marianna counted it a privilege to cook for
her family and the extended family. She always enjoyed
her grandchildren and great grandchildren and often
shared stories of her life growing up on the farm. She was
entertained by her pet cats as a young girl through to her
one hundredth birthday.
Graveside services were held in the Dallas Cemetery.
Memorials may be given Evangelical Bible Church at 1175
SE Howe St. Dallas, OR 97338 or American Bible Society at
101 N. Independence Mall E. FL8 Philadelphia, PA 19106-
2155. The Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center is caring for the
family. www.dallastribute.com
Stevedore in Long Beach,
Calif., for several decades
before retiring in 1994 and
moving to Dallas, where he
met and married Joan Turn-
er in 1995.
They enjoyed 22 years of
happiness and traveled to
many different places in the
U.S. in their motor home
before settling down in Dal-
las. One of his passions was
restoring old cars, and he
did several of them during
that time. Bob had many
friends in Dallas and en-
joyed making the rounds
and having coffee and help-
ing in any way he could. He
especially loved the antique
stores in Dallas and the peo-
ple who worked in them. His
friends were very important
to him. He enjoyed retired
life, and he put his creative
energy into several different
types of projects, including
brass artwork and detailed
dioramas. Some of his art-
work is on display at the
local museum. He contin-
ued to fly planes whenever
he had the chance. He was
loved by all who knew him
and will be dearly missed!
The family would like to
express their heartfelt grati-
tude to the nurses and care-
givers at Willamette Valley
Hospice. The tender and
dignified care they gave over
the last month was a bless-
ing to the entire family. They
will always have a special
place in the family’s heart.
His is survived by his wife
Joan; his daughters Michelle
(Russell) Smith, of Enum-
claw, Wash., Roberta Taylor,
of Portland, Kathy (Craig)
Linson, of Gresham, Connie
(Steve) Marshall, of Dallas,
and Sherry (Kevin) Sailors,
of LaPine; and many grand-
kids, great-grandkids and
great-great-grandkids.
A memorial celebration
will be held at a later date,
yet to be determined, and all
who knew and loved him are
welcome. The Dallas Mortu-
ary Tribute Center is caring
for the family. To leave a
message or memory for the
f a m i l y, p l e a s e g o t o
www.dallastribute.com.
Gordon Comstock
English
Feb. 7, 1922 – 2017
Gordon Comstock English
was born in Van Nuys, Calif.,
on Feb. 7, 1922, to Albert
English and Theo Darling
English. He attended Laurel
G r a d e
School,
Bancroft
J u n i o r
High, and
Fairfax
H i g h
School,
where he
graduated
with the Winter Class of
1941. Gordon had a sharp
mind, enabling him to solve
difficult problems and figure
out how things worked often
using creative ingenuity to
fix them. One time he built
his own kayak and engi-
neered a way to tow it be-
hind his bicycle for the 17-
mile ride to Santa Monica
from his home.
While in high school, Gor-
don developed a passion for
flying racing pigeons. He
also worked for Harlan C.
Palmer, publisher of the Cit-
izen News, as a paper boy,
assistant cashier, and ac-
count manager. As America’s
involvement in World War II
escalated and with an im-
pending draft, Mr. Palmer
suggested Gordon might
benefit the war effort by
joining the signal corp and
using his pigeon racing ex-
perience to help the troops
communicate with one an-
other. After careful consider-
ation, Gordon chose to at-
tend trade school and study
airplane mechanics, which
eventually propelled him to
become a lead mechanic for
Pan American Airlines and
earned him special recogni-
tion for the provision of vital
air transportation under
contract to the United States
Navy. As a supervisor of
Lockheed Vega, Gordon no-
ticed one of the original
Rosie the Riveters on the as-
sembly line. He fell in love
with her and asked this love-
ly Puerto Rican woman to
become his wife.
After the war, Gordon
used his mechanics skills
and expertise to open his
own machine shop, Angor
Precision Products Inc. In
1964, Gordon moved his
family to Dallas, built their
beautiful family home, and
continued operating his ma-
chine shop.
A change of occupation
came in the early ’70s. Gor-
don earned his real estate
broker’s license and began
working at Hildebrand and
Kromer Realty. Within two
years, he became the
owner/broker of Angor Real-
ty, successfully selling and
managing real estate, in-
cluding his own. Gordon
sold the business to his eld-
est son in 1995.
Gordon and Ana enjoyed
traveling to places such as
Hong Kong, Spain, Puerto
Rico, Mexico, Canada, West-
ern Europe, St. Thomas, as
well as many places around
the USA. He even flew a
small plane with a some-
what reluctant co-pilot, Ana,
on some journeys as well.
Gordon flew racing pi-
geons for nearly 40 years.
His reputation earned him
the honor of providing his
pigeons to be released at the
1 9 6 0 Sq u a w Va l l e y
Olympics. In 1962, he was
presented the Outstanding
Flyer of California by Walt
Disney. Over the years his
homers were champions,
flying distances from 200 to
600 miles. Gordon had
many other hobbies includ-
i n g b ow l i n g , b a s e b a l l ,
stamps, coins and family ge-
nealogy.
Gordon was a dedicated
family man and friend to the
community. He was always
there to lend a hand to some-
one in need. He volunteered
substantial time to building
the current grandstands at
the Dallas High School foot-
ball field, receiving a lifetime
pass to all Dallas High School
home football games. He was
a member and past presi-
dent of the Dallas Rotary
Club, where he earned a cer-
tificate for 47 years of perfect
attendance. He served on the
state Boundary Commission
under Tom McCall, Ash
Creek water district, and the
Polk County Board of Real-
tors.
Gordon joined the con-
gregation of Trinity Lutheran
Church in 1964. He served
as a board member; helped
with the remodel of the
Washington Street building;
arranged for lectors for
many years; and negotiated
the deal for the property this
new building sits on.
Gordon’s wife, Ana pro-
ceeded him in death on Nov.
20, 2012. They were married
for 67 years. He lost his
beloved grandson, Joshua
English, in 2000. He is sur-
vived by his four children:
Gordon English Jr., of Dallas,
and his wife, Virginia; Vir-
ginia (Ginny) Kirk, of Dallas;
Nancy Kinder, of Stockton,
Calif., and her husband,
Johnny; and Greg English, of
Rockaway Beach, and his
wife Joellyn; along with eight
grandchildren; and 18 great-
grandchildren.
Services were held on Sat-
urday, Nov. 25, in the Trinity
Lutheran Church with pri-
vate interment in the Salt
Creek Cemetery.
The Dallas Mortuary Trib-
ute Center is caring for the
family.
To leave an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Arthur Eugene
Mosher
June 6, 1922 – Nov. 21, 2017
Arthur Mosher passed
away on Nov. 21 in Portland.
He was 95.
Art was born in Hot
Spring,
S . D. , i n
1922. His
f a m i l y
owned a
dairy farm,
and Art
and his
brothers
and sister
all helped
out on the
farm. The
f a m i l y
moved to
Oregon during the latter
part of the 1930s, settling in
Yamhill County. Art lived
with a family in McMinnville
during high school and
graduated from McMin-
nville High.
Following school, he
joined the Navy and, while
on a leave, married Eliza-
beth Wilkinson, whom he
had met while visiting rela-
tives in California. Art served
in the Pacific during World
War II, assigned first to the
Indianapolis and then the
Pittsburg. He was honorably
discharged from the Navy in
1945 with the rank of gun-
ners mate first class.
Art and Elizabeth moved
to the Yamhill-Carlton area,
where he initially worked on
a farm, then raised turkeys
and worked for a Carlton
lumber company. The com-
pany was acquired by
Willamette Valley Lumber
Salem
412 Lancaster Drive NE
Salem, OR 97301
Company, and Art and fami-
ly moved to Dallas in 1956.
At Willamette, he worked as
a land surveyor and eventu-
ally became resident logging
and construction engineer,
managing timber sale prop-
erty lines and laying out log-
ging roads on Willamette
property.
Art and Elizabeth were
very active in the Dallas
community. He served on
the Dallas Planning Com-
mission and was elected to
Dallas City Council in 1982.
They were both very active
in the Polk County Historical
Society, especially with
Brunk House, and provided
time and support for the
construction and develop-
ment of the Polk County
Historical Society Museum
at the county fairgrounds in
Rickreall. After he retired he
made deliveries for Meals
On Wheels.
They were members of
the Dallas Presbyterian
Church, with Art serving in
various lay roles.
In 2005, they were hon-
ored by the Dallas Chamber
of Commerce jointly being
named Dallas Good Samari-
tans.
He was a fly fisherman,
climbed mountains, enjoyed
woodworking and garden-
ing and, after retirement,
became an avid golfer. He
enjoyed RV camping with
family and friends through-
out Oregon and regularly
made winter trips to Califor-
nia and Arizona. He enjoyed
sports and was a Dallas High
booster.
Most of all Art and Eliza-
beth had great friends, and
there was nothing they loved
more than spending time
with friends and family. Their
home was always filled with
love and joy, and all were
genuinely welcome. They of-
fered love and support to
many young people in their
church and the community
throughout their lives.
Following Elizabeth’s
passing in 2007, Art moved
to Dallas Retirement Village,
where he continued his life
of service, becoming a resi-
dent representative on the
DRV steering committee.
Additionally, he spent much
of his free time visiting with
and lending his support to
other residents.
He is survived by sons Alan
(Vicki Vondross) and David
(Christine); and daughter
Jane Petersen (David); five
grandchildren; and eight
great-grandchildren.
The family suggests re-
membrances be made in
Art’s name to the Polk Coun-
ty Historical Society or
Meals on Wheels.
Dorothy Dell
Starkey
Aug. 31, 1927 – Nov. 6, 2017
Dorothy Dell Starkey, 90,
of Dallas, died on Nov. 6 in
the Dallas Retirement Village.
Dorothy is survived by
husband Les; sons Jerry,
Doug and Kim; daughters-
in-law Jeannie, Kyrie, Julie
and Carla; five grandchil-
dren; and seven great-
grandchildren. A grandchild
died before she did.
Memorial services will
begin at 11 a.m. on Nov. 30
in the Evangelical Bible
Church. Private interment
was in the Dallas Cemetery.
The Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center is caring for the fam-
ily. To leave an online trib-
ute: www.dallastribute.com.
See OBITS, Page 7A
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