Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2009)
EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 4, 2009 Sweeney family grand marshalls of 2009 Heppner St. Patrick’s Day Celebration continued from page 1 operated the Model Billiards hall in Helena. Cornelius re ceived a land grant from the railroad and started a ranch near Winston, MT. Patrick Michael was a stone contractor in Helena. While building his ranch, Cornelius worked w ith Pat rick on many early Helena buildings. Patrick Michael and Mary had three chil dren, Patrick Jerome, James and Charles. Patrick M i chael was very active in the Catholic Knights o f Amer ica, having been a found ing member of the Helena branch. Patrick M ichael died after a wagon accident in 1892 while helping build a Catholic church in Helena. Cornelius then helped raise Patrick M ichael's children on the ranch near Winston. Many relatives still remain in Montana. P at's grandfather, Dr. Patrick Jerome Sweeney, left the Sweeney ranch in Winston in 1910 to attend the M ontana S chool o f M ines. He then w ent to Chicago where he graduated from the Loyola College o f Dentistry. He returned to Montana and opened a dental practice in Butte in 1917. He spent many years on the Montana State Board o f Dental Examiners. He was active in political af fairs and was appointed to the first Montana State Parks Commission in 1935. His lifelong interest in min ing continued and he was involved in various mining interests including White’s Gulch and the Sw eeney- Hopkins mine in Superior, MT. He moved his dental practice to Red Lodge, MT in 1920. He then relocated to Fort Benton in 1929. Fol lowing his retirement in Fort Benton in 1953, he moved to Whitefish Lake. In 1965 he m oved to H eppner to be closer to his family. He passed away in 1969 and is buried in Heppner Masonic Cemetery. Pat’s father, Jerome "Jerry,” was born at Red Lodge in 1923. He missed being named Patrick because an older sibling had already been given the name. Je rome joined the Army in 1941 and fought with the 101st infantry division. He was wounded on the front lines in Germany. Upon re turning to Montana, he met an Army nurse at the Fort Harrison Veteran’s Hospital, Olive Virginia "Tiny” Har ris. They married in 1948 in Butte, MT. Jerom e worked as funeral director in Butte, MT for many years before moving to Oregon in 1958. The family lived in Ontario and Grants Pass before pur chasing the m ortuary in Heppner in 1964. Jerom e served for many years as m ayor o f Heppner, as well as on the city council and planning commission. He retired in 1982 and moved to Portland. He passed away in 1990. Tiny Sweeney was a Mor row County Public Health nurse for a number o f years. She passed away in 1975. They are both buried in Hep pner Masonic Cemetery. Pat was one o f six children. Michael J., who passed away September 20, 2008, was bom in Chicago while Jerome was attending M ortuary C ollege there. Patrick W„ Kathleen Ann, and Daniel Joseph were all bom in Butte, MT, and Brian and Gregory were bom in Oregon. Kathleen, Daniel, Brian and Gregory now re side in the Portland area. Pat followed in his father’s footsteps as a fu neral director, purchasing the mortuary in Condon in 1978, and later purchasing the Heppner mortuary from his father in 1981. He and his wife, Trisha, currently run both mortuaries under the name Sweeney Mortu ary. Pat and Trisha have four children: Corey Patrick and his wife Brandi, Nicole Coe and her husband Scott, Cameron Ryan and his wife Stefanie, and Brooke Marie, all o f Heppner. They also have four grandchildren, Kane Patrick and Jorden Michael Sweeney, and Drew M atthew and Jace Ryan Coe. Pat enjoys collecting Heppner memorabilia. He has numerous items from before, during and after the flood. Along with a great sense o f humo», the "fishin’ mortician” loves steelhead fishing. But more than these hobbies, Pat loves his grand- kids. "They are what make me breathe,” he said. Page Design - Com plete Sites - Hosting H ep p n er G azette-Tim es 676-9228 AFFORDABLE FULL COLOR PRINTING Flyers * Letterhead * Brochures Business Cards * Envelopes * Posters Our new full color printing system will de liver the quality you want at the price you can af ford! Tfcid 1» n o t cl cafUoi copy Machine. It is quality color printing from your digital files. Graphic & Design available too!
