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.
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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.
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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
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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
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F ORECAST A UTOMATED : 541-575-1122 R OAD CONDITIONS : 511; TRIPCHECK . COM ; NOAA W EATHER R ADIO :162.500 MHz
Tuesday
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