A2
Family
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Firefi ghters fi nish academy
O BITUARIES
Fred Fleck
July 19, 1922 - Feb. 12, 2017
Fred Fleck, 94, passed away Sun-
day, Feb. 12, at Blue Mountain Hos-
pital with family by his side. He was
born to Henry and Rosie (Hile) Fleck
on July 19, 1922, in Etna Mills, Cal-
ifornia, the youngest of six children.
He graduated from Etna High
School in 1940, and served in the
Army Air Corps as an airplane me-
chanic in Dallas, Texas, and Seat-
tle, Washington. Upon discharge, he
moved back to Scott Valley and worked for the Forest Service
and Fish and Wildlife, assessing the fi sh population of the
lakes in the Marble Mountain Wilderness. During that time,
he met and married Betty Smith of Yreka, California. He then
attended Oregon State University in Corvallis and Humboldt
State College in Arcata, California, majoring in wildlife fi sh-
eries. They moved back to Yreka where he worked at the Sis-
kiyou County Assessor’s Offi ce as a deputy appraiser, then
chief appraiser until his retirement in 1988.
Fleck’s favorite activity was spending time with family,
whether boating on Shasta Lake, trips to the coast, hunting,
fi shing, horseback riding or camping.
His survivors include three children, Bonnie (Larry) Ma-
plesden, Ryan (Judy) Fleck and Donna Fleck; four grandchil-
dren; four great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews;
friends; and “adopted” granddaughter, Marie Englund from
Sweden.
Fleck was preceded in death by all fi ve siblings and his
wife. By his request, there will be no funeral services.
Contributed photo
Over the course of three weekends, new volunteers to Long Creek, Burns and Hines fire departments attended the
Grant-Harney Training Association Firefighter Academy. Each weekend, a different fire department hosted and provided
instructors for the academy to train these new firefighters. In the photo, back row, from left, Mike Alderman (Burns), Justin
Dealy (Burns), Mike Hehir (Burns), Dallas Helsley (Long Creek), Bjorn Petersen (Hines) and Peter Case (Long Creek); front
row, Chris Hyde (Burns), Jeff Porter (Hines), Denise Porter (Long Creek) and Jennifer Grainger (Long Creek).
About Obituaries
G RANT U NION S TUDENTS OF THE M ONTH — J ANUARY
News obituaries are a free service of the Blue Mountain Eagle. The paper accepts obitu-
aries 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 email, editorl@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.
Looking for a pot of gold
Ashley Henry
Grade: 7
Parent: Joan
Walczyk
Trevyn Coalwell
Grade: 8
Parents: Terry
and Leann
Coalwell
Maddy Way
Grade: 9
Parents: Grant
Way and Melissa
Galbreath
Tori Coalwell
Grade: 10
Parents: Terry
and Leann
Coalwell
Zack Deiter
Grade: 11
Parents: Chris
and Windi Deiter
Courtney Allen
Grade: 12
Parents: Nancy
McQuiston
Jeffery and
Elena Allen
Auxiliary fundraising provides equipment for hospital
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
The sale of these items at the Blue
Mountain Hospital Gift Shop benefits
the Blue Mountain Hospital Auxiliary,
which purchases needed equipment
and helps support maintenance
projects at Blue Mountain Hospital.
The Blue Mountain Hospital Auxiliary
is made up of volunteers who operate and
organize the Blue Mountain Hospital Gift
Shop and the Christmas Bazaar.
Proceeds from these two fundraisers
provide the hospital and Blue Mountain
Care Center with needed equipment and
aid in maintenance projects as well as
supporting local traveling nurses to desti-
nations such as South America to assist in
needed reconstructive surgery for babies,
toddlers and small children.
The gift shop is located in the front
foyer at the bottom of the stairs of the
hospital and offers items for all ages, such
as toys, books, cookbooks, jewelry, purs-
es, scarves, décor and more. The Auxil-
iary gift shop is open from 10:30 a.m. to
3 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday, except holidays.
Volunteers can join at any time. The
monthly meetings are at 10 a.m. the sec-
ond Tuesday of each month in the Blue
Mountain Hospital Conference Room,
which is located on the fi rst fl oor. Contact
Wilma Boyer, gift shop manager, at 541-
620-8034 or 541-575-1311, ext. 2362,
during gift shop hours with any questions
or to join the Blue Mountain Hospital
Auxiliary.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
A rainbow over the Grant County Fairgrounds Monday,
Feb. 20.
C ORRECTION
The last name of a Grant Union Gold dancer was incorrect
in last week’s article about the team’s Feb. 11 competition
in Albany. Rheannah Lemons placed in the top fi ve in the
advanced drill down. The Eagle regrets the error.
Diana Lee Smith
3/7/1946 - 12/18/2016
after, she was called “Minga.” She spent so much time with them
when they were little that her friends often asked her why she
wasn’t off traveling or doing whatever she wanted. She could only
tell them “I am.” She loved her grandchildren more than she
could ever put into words and was so proud of each of them.
When Diana became a great-grandma she said it was like
getting to become a new grandma all over again. She had four
great-grandchildren: Carson, Audrina, Charlotte and Adalynn, and
each one had their very own special place in her heart.
Diana also became a mother and grandmother figure to many
others that came into her life, from her first son-in-law, to each of
her grandchildrens’ friends. She always had an open door and a
spot at her table for anyone in need.
Diana had a goofy sense of humor and would often laugh until
she cried at even the smallest things. She would do random jigs in
the kitchen while she cleaned and loved attempting to do silly
voices or accents. Road trips with her were interesting to say the
least, never boring.
Diana had a big heart and was always willing to help in any way
she could. She was the one everyone went to for advice and she
was always only a phone call away. She would put a hold on
anything she was doing just to talk, if someone needed it.
Diana will be missed more than she could have ever known and
will be remembered for many, many years to come.
Diana requested there be no memorial service, but instead a
celebration of life in late spring for friends and loved ones.
Paid for by the family of Diana Smith
L AST W EEK ’ S T EMPS
J OHN D AY ..................................................................... HI/LO
T UESDAY ....................................................................... 63/30
W EDNESDAY ................................................................... 55/38
T HURSDAY ..................................................................... 55/40
F RIDAY .......................................................................... 51/34
S ATURDAY ...................................................................... 46/35
S UNDAY ......................................................................... 46/36
M ONDAY ........................................................................ 58/41
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Diana Lee Baker was born on March 7, 1946 to Alice and Robert
Baker in Ontario, CA.
She later moved to Bakersfield, CA where she met Ronnie Smith.
They knew it was meant to be and got married 6 months later on
Feb. 2, 1964. Ronnie’s family quickly became her own. She never
once referred to a member of his family as “Ronnie’s.” It was
always “Mom” or “my sisters.” She was always open and
welcoming to most everyone she met.
Diana was a wonderful mother to two beautiful girls, Alesa and
Shannon. When the girls were young the little family packed up
everything they owned and moved to Oregon. They spent most of
their life in Sandy, and later retired and moved to John Day.
Diana was always hardworking and had a variety of careers,
starting with selling fruit at a fruit stand in Sandy, to hospice, to
working for a courier business, with plenty of others in between.
She always valued the importance of learning many trades so that
one could always find a job.
Diana had many hobbies: gardening, traveling, sewing and
embroidering were just a few. She was an excellent cook, which
wasn’t always so, according to Ron. She loved to sing and had a
beautiful voice, even if she didn’t think so. She always had such a
sense of style, no matter the decade, and her home was always
cozy and welcoming. She loved jewelry, “the bigger and shinier
the better” she always said, and she always had something to
coordinate with whatever she was wearing.
Above all, she loved being a grandma. She had four
grandchildren, RJ, Jami, Kristina and David. To them, and everyone
W EATHER F ORECAST FOR THE WEEK OF F EB . 22-28
Wednesday
Thursday
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Tuesday
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of rain/snow
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rain/snow
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sunny
Slight chance
of snow
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snow
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cloudy
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40
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41
23
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