A2
Family
Blue Mountain Eagle
S TUDENTS OF THE MONTH
S EPTEMBER – D AYVILLE S CHOOL
Contributed photo
Dayville School students of the month for
September: from left, Dally Moore, grades K-3;
Cheyenne Nichols and Hannah Flower, high
school; and Gauge Jenks, grades 4-6.
S TUDENTS OF THE MONTH
O CTOBER – D AYVILLE S CHOOL
Contributed photo
Dayville School students of the month for October:
from left, Ethan Merkord, grades K-3; Autumn
Walker, grades 4-6; and Austin Walker, high school.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
O BITUARY
David Carlos Mason
April 24, 1931 – Dec. 2, 2015
ST. GEORGE, Utah —
David Carlos Mason, 84,
formerly of John Day and
Dayville, died Dec. 2 in St.
George, Utah.
Funeral services were held
on Dec. 8 at the Heritage LDS
Chapel in Hurricane, Utah. Interment was at the Hurricane
City Cemetery.
Mr. Mason was born on April 24, 1931, in Portland,
the oldest of two children, to David E. Mason and Georgia
Mae Valade. He was raised in John Day and Dayville. He
grew up on a ranch and always had a good story to tell
about it. His mother, Mae, managed the telephone of¿ ce in
John Day until 1945.
His grandfather, Carlos Valade, homesteaded near Pic-
ture Gorge in the 1880s.
He served in the U.S. Air Force for four years. He met
his love, Maideen, in Hawaii while stationed at Hickam
Air Force Base. They were married in Hawaii in June
1956.
He attended school in Pocatello, Idaho, for three years,
and dental school in Portland for four years.
He had a passion for running. He ran 20 marathons and
in 2002 ran the Olympic Torch. He loved being a part of
and supporting the Relay for Life. He and his team ran
every year. Last year, he was able to be the grand marshal
for the Survivor’s lap, as he previously had battled prostate
cancer.
He lived in Hurricane since 1977, running a dental
practice and being very involved in the community. He
served on the county fair board for several years and was
an avid scouter. He enjoyed working with the 11-year-old
scouts and was still active in that. He was honored with
the Silver Beaver award for his dedication to the scouting
program.
Survivors include his wife of almost 60 years, Maideen;
daughter, Marti Hansen; sons, Donn (Cheryl) Mason, Alex
Mason, David Mason and Shaun (Karen) Mason; and
many grandchildren and great-grandchildren who loved
their Grandpa Mason.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Don (Donn),
who was killed during the Korean War and is listed on the
War Memorial.
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tion, or to inquire about a paid memorial, call 541-575-0710.
In Loving Memory ~ Luisa Goirigolzarri
After her mother recovered from her extended illness, Luisa
joined in with the farm work as well wherever she was
needed. These were chores while she attended school and
became routine work when she ended her formal education at
the age of ten.¬+er drive and ability to work tirelessly and
the skills she learned at a very early age would serve her
well for the rest of her long life.¬
In May of 1950, she married Benigno (Beni)
Goirigol]arri.¬Their first son, Juan Jose, was born the
following year.¬As the young family built a new home on the
Elorriaga farm, the repressive legal system under the Franco
dictatorship came into their home.¬+is former employer, a
wealthy aristocrat, accused Beni of robbery.¬'espite no
evidence nor investigation he was thrown into prison.
Eventually the real culprit was found and Beni was released
from prison.¬But the damage had been done.¬The 6panish
&ivil :ar broke out in 19 and Beni was captured that
summer. +e survived the executions of his fellow prisoners,
the starvation and disease of Franco’s labor camps and the
imprisonment until the end of :orld :ar II. But the
dictatorial oppression continued long after.¬+e needed to
leave 6pain.
In 195, Beni got on a list to come to the 86 to herd
sheep.¬'espite Luisa’s pregnancy, the onetime opportunity
required him to leave for an unknown region called
2regon.¬Their second son, Javier, was born three weeks
later.¬Luisa and her two young sons rejoined the household of
her parents and waited for Beni’s return. By 1961, Beni had
become a 86 citi]en, worked his way into better paying and
secure jobs and saved enough money to reestablish a
comfortable lifestyle for his family in 6pain.¬The family was
reunited that summer.¬But 6pain remained in the grips of a
dictatorship and still not much better than a third world
country.¬+e saw and convinced Luisa that America was a
better place for the family and would provide so many more
opportunities for their sons.¬
In the Fall of 1961, they said goodbye to 6pain and all of
their extended family.¬They arrived in 6eneca in 1ovember.¬¬
Unable to speak any English, unfamiliar with the customs
and traditions of their new home, Luisa faced many
challenges.¬But the small community of 6eneca gave her a
warm welcome.¬Indeed, the cards and well wishes from the
ladies that gathered at her welcoming coffee were still stored
with all of her other memorabilia.¬The electric range and
refrigerator/freezer, toaster and other amenities were
delightful appliances she had never known.¬But nothing
matched the convenience of the¬wash machine, particularly
given Beni’s work in the wet, muddy, cold forests as a logger.¬
:hen the long cold winter of 6eneca finally turned to spring,
Luisa began gathering flowers and plants to surround their
home with color.¬Most of the back
yard became a vegetable
garden.¬But 6eneca was not
Vizcaya, and some of the early
flower and vegetable plantings
failed due to the cold, with killing
frost regularly striking well into
June.¬But she persevered,
adjusted and learned, including
how to read, write and speak her
new language.¬The family
adopted the customs and traditions of their new home, but
the traditions and language of the old country were kept
alive.¬6panish and Basque were always spoken.¬The kitchen
of their home was always filled with the foods and she had
learned to prepare as a child, all of the recipes memorized,
nothing in writing.¬
Eyes on vision
screening
Students at three Grant
County schools have received
vision checks thanks to a re-
cent visit from Children’s Vi-
sion Foundation.
Eye care professionals
from the Bend-based nonprof-
it provided seven-step vision
screening to all students in
grades 2-6 at Humbolt Ele-
mentary, grades 2-8 at Long
Creek School and K-12 at
Monument School.
The no-cost screenings
check for each student’s class-
room visual abilities including
distance and near acuity, fu-
sion, tracking and near point
of convergence. CVF encour-
ages families to follow up the
screenings with professional
care.
CVF has screened at Hum-
bolt biannually since 2001.
This year, CVF is partner-
ing with John Day Eye Care,
who has volunteered to screen
Humboldt’s kindergarten and
¿ rst-grade students in January.
CVF Executive Director
Julie Bibler said it is great to
see the importance this com-
munity has placed on chil-
dren’s vision and education.
Humbolt Principal Kim
Smith said Bibler and the vol-
unteers did an exceptional job
coordinating and running the
vision screening for the stu-
dents.
“Their help in conjunction
with parent and community
volunteers made this possi-
ble,” she said. “Students and
families will bene¿ t from the
information that we gained
through this process.”
Students who were identi-
¿ ed with potential vision prob-
lems with these screenings
andor are having dif¿ culty in
school should have a profes-
sional eye exam.
Support for the screenings
came from the Ford Family
Foundation.
Your Rural Fa mily Health Clinic
Grant County
HEALTH
Department
528 E. Main, St. E,
John Day
Monday - Friday
8am - 5pm
Karen Triplett, FNP
Services Provided:
Luisa went quietly in her sleep to her eternal rest with The
)ather on ThanNsJiYinJ niJht 1oYePEer ¬6he was
born on August 10, 1925 to Juan Jose and Geronima (Bilbao)
(lorriaga in rural Berango, 9i]Faya, 6pain¬6he was the
si[th oI seYen Fhildren born into the Iamily¬:hen her
mother became ill and bedridden, she and her sisters,
although very young, took on all of the household’s
responsibilities for the family while their father and brothers
handled the cultivating, planting and harvesting what the
family farm would grow as well as tending the livestock.
Contributed photo
PTA member Sophia Nicodemus helps sixth-grader
Carson Weaver with a vision exam.
By 1967, with the help of a teacher and friend, she had
mastered English well enough, studied the history and
constitution of her new home and stood for the test to become
a citizen of the United 6tates.¬2ne of her most proud
occasions, she passed the test and gained citizenship for
herself and her two sons.¬2nce again the community of
6eneca gathered around her in celebration, welcoming its
newest citizen.¬
• Primary Care
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Management
Grant County Health Department does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin,
disability, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activitie s, or in employment.
Appointments
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Call and schedule your
appointment today!
TOLL FREE
888-443-9104
or 541-575-0429
The mountains and forests within view of their home quickly
became the favored places to spend weekends camping,
picnicking and gathering.¬The forests and the streams
provided not only recreation but fish, mushrooms, meat and
huckleberries to eat and wood to heat the home during the
long cold seasons. 6oon after Beni retired, they moved to
Burns in order to be closer to the grocery store, medical
facilities, a longer growing season, less snow and eventually
the 6enior &enter.¬6ince Luisa never learned to drive, a
home within walking distance from all those things and the
&atholic &hurch were important.¬6he soon made it their
home, surrounded by flowers, a huge garden in the back yard
and fruit trees.¬6he always said she did not enjoy cooking,
but she took great pleasure in feeding people that enjoyed
her food, especially her grandsons.¬There was never a
shortage of food and if there was a picky eater present, a
desirable substitute was always prepared.¬6he loved all of
those boys.¬If there was a concert, sporting event or ceremony
they were involved in during her visit, she was there.¬
Freezing cold weather, hard bleachers, noisy gyms, hot
summer ball fields, none of that deterred her from cheering
them on until it was over. Luisa is survived by her son Javier
(Karen) & grandsons Ben & Alex of Roseburg, Oregon,
grandson Juan ('awn) and greatgrandson Javier of
3uyallup, :ashington, brother Blas Elloriaga and sister
Isabel Larandugoitia of 6pain and many nieces & nephews in
6pain.¬6he was preceded in death by her husband, Benigno,
son Juan Jose, grandson Nicholas, her parents, brothers
Esteban, Raymundo &newborn child and her sister Mari.¬¬
Mass will be celebrated at 1100 AM, 6aturday, 'ecember 19,
2015 at +oly Family &atholic &hurch in Burns.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the
Alzheimer’s Association or the +arney County 6enior Center
PO Box 728, Burns, Oregon 97720.
Taylor’s Family Mortuary 541-679-6983
Paid for by the family of Luisa Goirigolzarri.
L AST W EEK ’ S T EMPS
J OHN D AY ..............................................HI/LO
T UESDAY ................................................45/NA
W EDNESDAY ...........................................39/31
T HURSDAY ..............................................54/38
F RIDAY ...................................................44/32
S ATURDAY ...............................................49/30
S UNDAY .................................................50/42
M ONDAY .................................................55/39
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