A2
Family
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
O BITUARIES
B IRTHS
Quincee Jayne Harper
Terry and Shilo (Burton) Harper
of Mt. Vernon announce the birth
of their daughter, Quincee Jayne
Harper, at 11:40 p.m. on May 21 at
St. Luke’s Medical Center in Boise,
Idaho. She weighed 4 pounds, 14
ounces. She joins brothers Tatyn and
Bransyn.
Grandparents are Daryl and Sue
Burton, and John and Doris Harper,
all of Mt. Vernon.
E AGLE ON V ACATION
Contributed photo
Grant Union Junior-Senior High School
teacher Rhonda McCumber, right, and a group
of students took the Eagle on vacation during
a field trip to the Pittock Museum in Portland
on May 20. From left, Katie Shockley, Laurie
Shockley, Kayana McLean, Cheyenne Gentis,
Diamond Workman, Crystal Wimberley and
McCumber.
Take a photo with the Eagle (print or mobile editions)
while on vacation, and email it to cheryl@bmeagle.com
or bring it to the Eagle office.
myeaglenews.com/breakingnews
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serve you!
Give us a call today
541-676-9158 - Heppner
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you about our services!
Larry Bruce Blasing
Nov. 5, 1938 — May 26, 2016
William I. March Jr.
June 9, 1938 — May 6, 2016
Larry Bruce Blasing, 77, died May
26 at his Prairie City home. A funeral
service was held June 3 at Prairie Bap-
tist Church in Prairie City. Interment fol-
lowed at Prairie City Cemetery.
Blasing was born Nov. 5, 1938, in
Baker City, to Mel and Dorothy Blasing.
He attended school in Unity and Bates,
and graduated from Prairie City High
School in 1956. He graduated from Ore-
gon State University in 1964 with a degree in forest management.
After graduation, he began his professional career in the forest
product industry, working throughout the Northwest — Montana,
Idaho, Alaska and British Columbia. He worked for the U.S. For-
est Service and the private sector. He was involved in all aspects
of forestry, including “dirt” forestry, logging and sawmill oper-
ation.
He also found himself involved in the political aspects of for-
est management, dealing with policy, contract interpretations,
land use issues, research, appeals and litigation. He was involved
in appealing the fi rst environmental impact statement and helped
pass the National Forest Management Act.
In retirement, he served eight years on the Grant County Pub-
lic Forest Commission. He was a member of the Blue Mountains
Forest Partners, the National Rifl e Association, Oregon Hunters
Association, the Jaycees and Prairie Baptist Church.
He was always willing to give of his time and use his knowl-
edge and experience to further benefi t Grant County in the area
of land use .
The day before he died, he was at the County Court doing his
civic duty, even after just losing an election — a testament to his
commitment and loyalty to a place and a cause.
He sought to work things out and bring people together to fi nd
solutions and common ground.
He enjoyed recreating on the land he sought to steward. He
was a hunter, fi shed in Alaska, rode snow machines and ATVs,
enjoyed traveling and was in the process of restoring a 1965
Thunderbird.
He was an avid and loyal Beavers fan and supported OSU
sports programs. He trekked to Corvallis whenever possible, en-
during even inclement weather to cheer his favorite team.
A generous man, he was among the fi rst to respond to a need
in his church or community. He was a steward of the land and of
the fi nancial resources God had given him. He died while spray-
ing weeds to grow better grass for his cattle — doing what he
loved most by taking care of the land God had given him.
Survivors include his wife, Yvonne Blasing; mother, Doro-
thy Blasing of Prairie City; son, Loy Blasing of Missoula, Mon-
tana; stepdaughters, Cindy Vanderwoude of Glasgow, Montana,
Lynn Phillips of Piedmont, South Dakota, and Laura Inman of
Hot Springs, South Dakota; and stepson, Tom Phillips of Silver
Springs, Florida.
Memorial contributions may be made to Blue Mountain Care
Center in Prairie City or to Prairie Baptist Church through Drisk-
ill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845.
For condolences, visit www.driskillmemorialchapel.com.
William “Bill” March Jr., 77, died May 6 at his Ritter
home. There will be no services.
March was born June 9, 1938, to William March Sr. and
Evelyn (Williams) March in Dunsmuir, California. In his
younger years, he ran an Arctic Circle restaurant in Med-
ford with friends Mel McDanials and Hank Davies. He of-
ten enjoyed talking about that time.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Marines.
He was content living among wildlife and enjoyed a sce-
nic view from his home near Deep Canyon in Ritter.
His hobbies included hunting, wood carving and visiting
with longtime friends on topics such as how to keep old ve-
hicles running long after they are no longer manufactured.
He was preceded in death by his mother, and more re-
cently, his cousin, Jim Dychoff of Long Creek.
Arrangements are under the care of Driskill Memorial
Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day.
For condolences, visit www.driskillmemorialchapel.
com.
John Clyde Forrest
John Clyde Forrest, 74, died June 3 at his Prairie City home.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, June 10, at Prairie
City Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Blue Mountain
Hospice through Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon
Blvd., John Day, OR 97845.
For condolences, visit www.driskillmemorialchapel.com.
Gary Sawin, 69, of Seneca, died
May 26 in Seneca. A memorial service
was held June 3 at Clyde Holliday State
Park.
Sawin was born Aug. 29, 1946, in
Willmar, Minnesota, to George Wilson
and Ruby Madeline (Thomas) Sawin.
After graduating from high school in
1964, he worked as a union carpenter,
truck driver and was a store owner. He
was a truck driver for 25 years, offi cially retiring in 1998.
On March 13, 1965, in Minnesota, he married Marilyn Kay
Parker, his true soul mate.
Gary enjoyed crossword puzzles, being outdoors, spending
time with family and living in the small town of Seneca.
Survivors include his sons, Rodney Sawin of Denver and
Brent (Maureen) Sawin of Seneca; six grandchildren; and nine
great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn Kay Sawin.
Arrangements are under the care of Driskill Memorial Chap-
el 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845.
For condolences, visit www.driskillmemorialchapel.com.
Patricia L. Russell
Oct. 15, 1942 — May 3, 2016
BEND — Patricia L. “Patti” Rus-
sell, 73, a longtime Mt. Vernon resi-
dent, died of natural causes May 3 in
Bend.
A small celebration of life was held
May 20.
Austin and June Drewett
A small memorial service for Austin and June Drewett will
be at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 18, at Prairie City Cemetery, with
Pastor Al Altnow offi ciating.
June died Jan. 14, 2014, and Austin died July 7, 2015. The
couple lived in Mt. Vernon.
May was colder than normal in John Day
Blue Mountain Eagle
Heppner & & Condon
Heppner
Condon
Gary Wilson Sawin
Aug. 29, 1946 — May 26, 2016
According to preliminary
data received by NOAA’s
National Weather Service in
Pendleton, temperatures at
John Day averaged slightly
colder than normal during the
month of May.
The average temperature
was 53.5 degrees — 0.8 de-
grees below normal. High
temperatures averaged 68.2
degrees — 0.6 degrees below
normal. The highest was 84
degrees on May 14. Low tem-
peratures averaged 38.7 de-
grees — 1.0 degree below nor-
mal. The lowest was 30 degrees
on May 1.
There were three days with
the low temperature below 32
degrees.
Precipitation totaled 1.83
inches during May, which was
0.07 inches below normal.
Measurable precipitation — at
least .01 inch — was received
on nine days with the heaviest
— 0.45 inches — reported on
May 22.
Precipitation this year has
reached 4.92 inches — 1.37
inches below normal. Since
October, the water year pre-
cipitation at John Day has been
7.43 inches — which is 2.44
inches below normal.
The highest wind gust was
40 mph, which occurred on
May 4.
The outlook for June from
NOAA’s Climate Prediction
Center calls for above-normal
temperatures and near-normal
precipitation. Normal highs
for John Day rise from 73
degrees at the start of June to
83 degrees at the end of June.
Normal lows rise from 43 de-
grees to 48 degrees. The 30-
year normal precipitation is
1.43 inches.
The National Weather Ser-
vice is an offi ce of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration, an agency of the
U.S. Commerce Department.
C ORRECTION
In the feature on the Me-
morial Day remembrance at
Prairie City Cemetery in last
week’s issue, Tom McAuslan,
who led the service, was in-
correctly identifi ed as the
commander of Prairie City
American Legion Post 106.
McAuslan is the post’s adju-
tant, and Ed Negus is the com-
mander. The Eagle regrets the
error.
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L AST W EEK ’ S T EMPS
J OHN D AY ..................................................................... HI/LO
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W EDNESDAY ................................................................... 83/52
T HURSDAY ..................................................................... 76/54
F RIDAY .......................................................................... 84/52
S ATURDAY ...................................................................... 92/57
S UNDAY ......................................................................... 93/58
M ONDAY ........................................................................ 93/60
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