A2
Family
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
O BITUARIES
Ardell June Ashton
June 12, 1934 – Sept. 27, 2015
Donald Nelson Cates
Oct. 14, 1923 – Oct. 1, 2015
Natalie Cresta Robinson Slayton
March 18, 1972 – Sept. 28, 2015
MILWAUKIE – Ardell June
Ashton, 81, formerly of John Day,
died Sept. 27 in Milwaukie, after a
long bout with multiple myeloma,
surrounded by loved ones. A Cele-
bration of Life will be at 1 p.m. Sat-
urday, Oct. 10, at Driskill Memorial
Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John
Day. Interment will be at Canyon
City Cemetery followed by a dessert
buffet at the Outpost in John Day.
Mrs. Ashton was born June 12, 1934, in Ogden, Utah, to
Anna and Lawrence Ables.
She enjoyed golf and contract bridge, toile painting, home
decor, gardening, dancing, travel, relaxing at home, crossword
puzzles, family and friends. She was fun-loving and left her
mark on the world.
Survivors include her daughters, Teresa Ashton of Mil-
waukie, Paula (Hart) Culp of Gresham and Kathleen (Russell)
Weaver of Lake Oswego; siblings, Donna (Craig) Smith of
Bend and Paul (Cheryl) Ables of Oregon City; grandchildren,
Will (Tiffany) Huffman, Christopher (Kilee) Culp, Maxwell
Weaver and Spencer Weaver; six great-grandchildren; one
great-great-grandchild; and extended family.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William “Bill”
P. Ashton; and granddaughter, Tami Huffman.
In lieu of À owers, memorial contributions may be made to
a charity of one’s choice through Driskill Memorial Chapel.
Donald Nelson Cates, 91, of Mt.
Vernon, died Oct. 1. A memorial ser-
vice will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16,
at the Mt. Vernon Community Hall. A
potluck will follow.
Mr. Cates was born Oct. 14, 1923, in
Park Place, the ¿ rst child of John Nel-
son Cates and Violetta (Fulford) Cates.
The family moved to his father’s home
in Missouri during the Great Depres-
sion, then returned to Oregon where
his father worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps build-
ing Silver Falls State Park. Times were tough and the family
eventually migrated to Omak, Wash., where he started working
in apple orchards when he was 13 and fell timber the summer
he was 14.
In 1941, he met Evelyn Lois Leese while he was falling tim-
ber near the Leese ranch in Aeneas, Wash. They were married
in Omak on Aug. 22,1942. Their ¿ rst home was in Disautel, a
small logging community in Washington.
In 1944, he joined the U.S. Navy and served in World War
II on a gunnery crew on the oil tanker J. H. Tuttle in the South
Paci¿ c. After the war, they returned to Omak, where their son,
Roy, and daughter, Linda, were born.
The family moved to Mt. Vernon in 1951 where he worked
for many years as a logger. They later owned Crossroads Ser-
vice Station and Crossroads Cafe in Mt. Vernon. He worked
with his son, Roy, in Cates Logging, and then with AAA Thun-
derbolt Fire Services with his son, daughter-in-law, grandchil-
dren and great-grandchildren. He was still active in Thunder-
bolt at the time of his death.
He was involved in the Mt. Vernon community: He led a Boy
Scout troop, was commander of the American Legion when the
Legion hall, now the Mt. Vernon Community Center, was built.
One spring break-up from logging, he worked fulltime on the
Legion hall which was built with volunteer labor, much of it his.
He was especially proud of the À oor and rafters.
He served as mayor of Mt. Vernon and was on the school
board. He and his wife were grand marshals of the Cinnabar
Mountain Rendezvous in 1996.
He loved the woods and enjoyed any activity that took him
to the hills – hunting, huckleberry picking, or just a long drive.
Known by everyone as “Granddad,” he was full of energy and
urgency. He liked to get things done. At age 76 he was still
working with the Thunderbolt crew on forest ¿ res and he piled
brush with them into his eighties. He took good care of his yard
and garden, and particularly his fruit trees. He enjoyed good
food, most especially his wife’s cooking. He loved dogs and
they loved him. He liked to build houses; he built six houses in
Mt. Vernon, one on the coast, plus several post of¿ ce buildings.
Survivors include son, Roy (Evelyn) Cates of Mt Vernon;
daughter, Linda (Tom Murray) Cates of Nelson, N.H.; grand-
daughter, Chris (Ken) Phillips of Fruitland, Idaho; grandsons,
Mike (DeAnne) Cates of Filer, Idaho, Bryan Cates of Mt. Ver-
non, Brad (Krystal) Cates of Mt. Vernon, and Will Murray
of New York City; many great-grandchildren and great-great
grandchildren; his sister, Bertha Wells of Tumwater, Wash., and
brother, Jesse Cates of Canyon City.
He was preceded in death earlier this year by his wife of 72
years, Evelyn Cates.
Arrangements are under the care of Driskill Memorial Chap-
el, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845.
NYSSA– Natalie Cresta Robinson Slayton, 44, formerly
of John Day, died Sept. 28. A memorial service was held
Oct. 3, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Heppner, with in-
urnment at Heppner Masonic Cemetery.
Mrs. Slayton was born March 18, 1972, in La Grande,
to Dean and Florene Kygar Robinson. She was raised and
attended school in Heppner. She studied anthropology and
business at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton
and Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.
She enjoyed reading, baking, gardening and sewing. Her
greatest enjoyment came from spending time with her chil-
dren, grandchildren and her many animals.
Survivors include her parents, Dean and Florene Robin-
son of Heppner; sons, Josh Slayton and Corey Slayton, both
of John Day; sister, Jacklyn Robinson of Pasco, Wash.; and
grandchildren, Aiden Slayton of McMinnville and Sydney
Slayton of John Day.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Susan G.
Komen Breast Cancer Research Fund, 1500 S.W. 1st Ave.
#270, Portland, OR 97201, or All Saints Episcopal Church,
P.O. Box 246, Heppner, OR 97836.
Arrangements are under the care of Sweeney Mortuary of
Heppner, 320 E Matlock St., Heppner, OR 97836.
About Obituaries
News obituaries are a free service of the Blue Mountain Eagle. The paper accepts
obituaries from the family or funeral home. Information submitted is subject to editing.
Obituaries submitted to the Eagle with incorrect information may be corrected and
republished as paid notices. Send obituaries by e-mail, cheryl@bmeagle.com; fax, 541-
575-1244; or mail, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845. For more information, or
to inquire about a paid memorial, call 541-575-0710.
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Canada’s acoustic Bluegrass/
Celtic power trio.
Cindy’s
Grooming
PRAIRIE CITY COMMUNITY CENTER
211 W 6th St., Prairie City
Saturday, Oct. 10th - 7:00 pm
Doors open at 6:00 pm, show at 7:00, all ages.
Tickets are $20 per person, proceeds go to
Community Center renovations and
improvements. Advance ticket outlets: Roan
Outwest Coffee, Norm DeJong DDS, Bar WB,
Prairie Trading Post, Station 62 & Naturally
Yours. Call Melanie DeJong at 541-620-1492
for more information.
Hours
Mon. 10-2
Tues. 9-5
Wed. 10-2
Other times available by
appointment only
150 Dayton, John Day
Call or text Cindy Legg for more details
541.620.0187
www.tillersfolly.com
W EDDINGS
Fairchild – King
Laina Fairchild and Darren King
were married on Aug. 8.
The bride, a 2014 graduate of
Eastern Oregon University in La
Grande, is the daughter of Kate and
Bob Fairchild of Athena.
The groom, a 2013 graduate of
Northwest Nazarene University in
Nampa, Idaho, is the son of Pam
and Everett King of Canyon City.
The couple have made their
home in Enterprise.
A CADEMIC REPORT
FOREST GROVE – Rayce and Rayne Houser of Canyon
City have been named to the dean’s list at Paci¿ c University
in Forest Grove for the 2015 fall semester.
Local Red Cross
encourages involvement
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
CANYON CITY – The
American Red Cross is look-
ing for a few good volunteers.
A training meeting to learn
more about becoming a Red
Cross volunteer will be held
at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8,
at the Grant School District
No. 3 meeting room, located
south of the Grant Union ath-
letic ¿ eld at 401 N. Canyon
City Blvd. in Canyon City.
Disaster Action Team
(DAT) captain Joan Bowl-
ing of Canyon City said that
when a shelter opened for the
Canyon Creek Complex ¿ re,
DAT team members came to
help, but more were needed to
cover all the shifts.
“Shelters are open 24
hours a day,” Bowling said.
“We need more people on our
DAT team.”
Other volunteer oppor-
tunities are also available
with Red Cross, including
preparedness presenter, ¿ re
prevention team (installing
smoke alarms), ¿ re preven-
tion team educator, disaster
mental health volunteer, event
planner and more.
Part of the organization’s
mission and vision statement
reads: “American Red Cross
prevents and alleviates human
suffering in the face of emer-
gencies by mobilizing the
power of volunteers” and Red
Cross aspires to “turn com-
passion into action so that our
communities are ready and
prepared for disasters.”
Those interested in the
training are encouraged
to RSVP by emailing lisa.
stroup@redcross.org or call-
ing 541-306-1238.
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Heppner and Condon, Oregon
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