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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2016)
A2 Family Blue Mountain Eagle O BITUARIES Wednesday, July 13, 2016 NOW THAT’S TEAMWORK! Donna Jo Walter Nov. 14, 1936 - July 7, 2016 Donna Jo Walter died peaceful- ly on July 7, 2016, with her family at her side in St. Helens, Oregon. She was born Nov. 14, 1936, in Dayville, Oregon, to Wilma Amis Larkin and Donald “Pete” Tay- lor. She grew up on a ranch in the Dayville area. She was a country woman at heart, and her love of horses was evident being named princess of the Spray Rodeo. She attended Lower Columbia College and received her associate degree in 1985 working later as a counsel- or. Walter was a talented woman, a pianist and accordion player. She was an avid reader with special interests in history, philosophy and politics. She was an exception- al ice skater. She was an accomplished seamstress, well known for her creation of amazing costumes for young and old. One of her greatest passions was volunteering in the local schools as a tutor under the Foster Grandparents program. Teachers and students looked forward to her ar- rival every morning. Walter had a sense of humor, often entertaining friends and families with her witty little songs and poems. She is survived by her four children, Kelly Wyllie, Robin Loper, Wendy Gladman and Blair Walter, and sev- en grandchildren, Julie and Evan Loper, Leah and Kevin Wyllie, Janessa Gladman and Taylor Andexler and Chel- sea Malone. Contributed photo/Lynn Ketchum Carson McKay (right), Grant County, and Payton Rigert, Hood River County, learn teamwork and confidence as they practice log rolling at the recent Oregon 4-H Summer Conference at Oregon State University in Corvallis. More than 200 youth from around the state gathered to participate in dozens of activities, including learning about drones, wave lab exploration, animal science and self-defense, at the OSU Extension-sponsored event. Beauty after death Everett Ray Swayne Everett Ray Swayne, 97, of Mt. Vernon died Monday, July 11 at his home. A rosary will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 14, at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church. A funeral Mass will follow at 11 a.m. Friday, July 15, at the Catholic church. Arrangements are under the care of Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day. For condolences, visit driskillmemorialchapel.com. Verla Jean Zielke provides final styling By Jennifer Colton EO Media Group 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. P REPARING FOR THE SHOW Contributed photo/Kyle Cline A dozen volunteers led by Boyd Britton spent an afternoon setting up at Oxbow Ranch for the Prairie City fireworks display. 3 343 4 3 334 Home school students are required by law to be tested by a qualified neutral person following grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. [OAR581- 021-0026 (5) (a) (A)] However, students who participate in interscholastic activities are required by OSAA rules to be tested every year and must score in the 23 rd percentile to be eligible to participate in interscholastic activities. Grant ESD will offer assessment testing for home school students finishing grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. Cost is $20.00 per student. Payment is due at the time of testing. Register your student for assessment testing by calling Grant ESD, 541-575-1349 on or before July 15, 2016. 3 3 3333333 3 3 3333333 3 3 33333 3 33 3 3333 3 33 3 The canvas bag is packed and ready to go, tucked away behind a sofa in an immaculate living room dotted with family photos, artwork and memoirs of a life well lived. When the call comes in, Verla Jean Zielke gathers her bag of tools — combs, curling irons, brushes — and heads out the door, ready to provide a ser- vice to a family in need. For most of her life, Ver- la Jean cut, washed and styled hair for thousands of people in the Hermiston community. Now retired, she only styles hair when she is asked to by her lone employer: Burns Mortuary of Hermiston. Now 90, Verla Jean contin- ues to pass on her skills to fami- lies in grief. “As long as they call me, I will go,” Verla Jean said. “As long as I can please the people, I’ll keep doing it. That’s all that matters.” Verla Jean radiates a soft en- ergy. Her smile is infectious, and the skill of her hands is undeni- able. Originally from Wallowa, Verla Jean came to Hermiston in 1952 when her husband, Fred, took over the industrial arts pro- gram for Hermiston schools. While Fred kept busy in educa- tion and around the house, Verla Jean set up shop as a beautician, eventually converting the garage of their home into a beauty shop. Four years after she moved to Hermiston — and 60 years ago this May — a neighbor asked Verla Jean for a favor. The neighbor’s daughter had cancer, and when the mother asked Verla Jean to help with the girl’s hair, she agreed. When the daughter died, Ver- la Jean received a phone call that would become the fi rst of many: Joe Burns told her the family had requested that Verla Jean do the hair for the funeral. “I’ve always felt that if I was needed, I can do it,” Verla Jean said, tearing up. “This is what God has given me, so I feel I should use it.” Over 60 years, Verla Jean’s work has preceded more than 100 funerals. Ken Huber, of Burns Mor- tuary, said having Zielke in the community is a blessing. “A vital part of helping the family in their grief and recov- ery is to see that everything is just the way Mom would like it,” he said. “I have had so many families that were dis- cussing how to do Mom’s hair and then felt at ease once they found out Verla Jean was still doing it. Literally thousands of families have been touched by Verla Jean’s years of exper- tise.” Verla Jean understands loss all too well. She provided the last hair styling for her mother, her grandmother, her aunt and many friends over the years. For the beautician, the experi- ence is a service, a fi nal gift to a family lost in grief. “I do this to help people face a diffi cult time losing someone special to them,” she said. “If I can please the fami- ly, then that’s my goal.” But Verla Jean does ask for something from the family — a photo of their loved one. She uses her experience and her bag of tools to re-create the hair style and, occasionally, manicure, the family would like. Each sitting takes between 30 and 45 min- utes, depending on the length of the hair and the complexity of the style. Zielke pretends the person is sleeping. She works quickly and quietly so as not to disturb them. Over the years, she has served men, women and even Verla Jean Zielke is the beautician for Burns Mortuary in Hermiston, where she performs final styling by family request before a funeral. teenagers. “The diffi cult ones are the teenagers and the young peo- ple,” she said. Fred passed away in 2013, but Verla Jean continues to live life fully. She makes greeting cards, she paints, she embroi- ders. She loves to spend time in her garden and with her Dachs- hund, Scooter. She makes a per- sonalized, hand-made ornament for each of her grandchildren every Christmas — and she has more than 20 grandchildren and almost as many great-grandchil- dren. Zielke keeps herself busy, but she always has time when the mortuary calls. “If they still need me, I’m available,” she said. She passed on her beautician skills to a daughter and a grand- daughter; her other descendants work in different fi elds from home health to teaching. All have taken on roles of service, much like their mother and grandmother. “Her heart is in it for the right reasons — to help families,” Huber said. “We don’t even talk about retirement. We have been blessed.” He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF J ULY 13-19 J OHN D AY ..................................................................... HI/LO T UESDAY ....................................................................... 78/47 W EDNESDAY ................................................................... 77/49 T HURSDAY ..................................................................... 82/51 F RIDAY .......................................................................... 72/56 S ATURDAY ...................................................................... 75/54 S UNDAY ......................................................................... 64/49 M ONDAY ........................................................................ 78/51 R IVER F LOWS ON J ULY 6 Last year 71 47 260 185 103 New 11 Verla Jean Zielke quietly styles the hair of a deceased person in March at Burns Mortuary, Hermiston, in preparation for funeral services. A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. L AST W EEK ’ S T EMPS Discharge JD River near John Day 38 Middle Fork @ Ritter 36 North Fork @ Monument 158 JD River @ Service Creek 192 JD River @ McDonald Ferry 211 Canyon Crk @ Thissells Ranch Bridge 11 Canyon Crk @ Adams Drive Bridge 15 EO Media Group/Jennifer Colton Avg. 144 117 564 848 1,000 11 14 % of Avg. 26 31 28 23 21 100 107 Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Sunny and nice Sunny and pleasant Sunny and pleasant Sunny and pleasant Mostly sunny and pleasant Plenty of sun 84 87 84 81 88 85 93 49 50 48 47 46 48 50 F ORECAST A UTOMATED : 541-575-1122 R OAD CONDITIONS : 511; TRIPCHECK . COM ; NOAA W EATHER R ADIO :162.500 MHz Tuesday S UNSHINE AND PATCHY CLOUDS -