Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2009)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 21,2009 Obituaries The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow Agnes Leonnig Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES U.S.P.S. 240-420 M o rro w County’s Home-Owned W e e k ly N e w s p a p e r P u b lish e d w e e k ly and enlered as p e rio d ic a l matter at the P ost O ffic e at Heppner. O re g o n under the A c t o f M a rc h 3 ,1 8 7 V P e rio d ica l postage paid at Heppner, O regon O ffic e at 188 W W illo w Street. Telephone (541) 6 7 6-9228. F a x (541) 676-9211. E -m a il e d ito r a rap id se rve net o r day id(u rap id se rve net W eb site w w w .heppner net P ostm aster send address changes to the H e p p ne r G a ze tte-T im e s, P O . B o x 337, H eppner, O re g o n 9 7 8 3 6 Su bscrip tio n s: $27 in M o r r o w C o u n ty ; $21 senior rate (in M o r r o w C o u n ty o n ly ; 6 2 ye ars o r o ld e r); $33 elsew here; $27 student sub scrip tion s. D a v id S y k e s ......................................................................................................P u b lish e r A u tu m n M o r g a n ................................................................................................... E d ito r All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p m For Advertising advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p m Cost (or a display ad is $5 per column inch Cost for classified ad is 50« per word Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to 100 words Cost (or a classified display ad a $5 75 per column inch. For Public/Legal Notices pubkc/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p m Dates for pub lication must be specified Affidavits must be reguired at the time of submission Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be specified if required) For Obituaries Obituaries are published in the Heppner G T at no charge and are edited to meet news guidelines Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines or vtfio wish to have the obituary written in a certan way must purchase advertising space for the obituary For Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor M UST be signed by the author The Heppner G T will not publish unsigned letters All letters M UST include the author s address and phone A g n e s L e o n n ig passed away on O ctober 13,2009 in Hillsboro at the age o f 88. She w as born to Swiss immigrants Clemens and Catherine Hurliman on May 28, 1921 in Woods. She had seven brothers and sisters. On December 30, 1941, she married Ronald M. Leonnig in Tillamook. They raised a family o f sev en children. They resided in Tillamook, Beaverton, Heppner, and McMinnville, Oregon over the years. Agnes has resided in McMinnville since 1968. She was an active m em ber o f St. James Catholic Church. Agnes worked in the fam ily -o w n ed b u s i nesses o f nightclubs, and as a school cook for 25 years. She also worked for Wal- Mart for seven years. Family has always been her most devoted fo cus. She kept up with all of her children and their fami lies, com m unicating via telephone and letter writ ing. Holidays were always spent at her home enjoying a w onderful, trad itio n al turkey dinner. Her brothers would come for visits and their conversations would include some o f their Swiss language and they never left without a loaf of bread or one o f her home baked Swiss cookies or pastries. She enjoyed sharing her love through her delicious foods. A g n es w as p r e ceded in death by: her hus band Ronald in 1981; her grandson Tony Leonnig in 1984; son Ronnie Leonnig in 1988; her parents; broth ers, Marcel, Leo, and Tony Hurliman; and by her sisters Mary Suter and M argaret Tone. Agnes leaves be hind to honor her life: her children, Leonore and hus band K ay C o rb in , L o r raine Leonnig, Roger and wife Marguerite Leonnig, Lindy and husband Tom G ilkey, C indy L eonnig, and LaDawna and husband Brian M unks; 15 grand children, Kayla, Krista, and Brian Corbin, Jeff Leonnig, Kim Rea, Kelley Cofflem- oyer, M ichael Rea, Andy and Ryan Leonnig, Morgan and Jenna Hawkes, Stepha nie, A shley and K risten Munks, and Torie Nguyen; and 13 g re a t-g ra n d c h il dren. A recitation o f the holy rosary was held on M onday, O ctober 19, at 10:30 a.m. with M ass o f Christian Burial following at 11 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tillamook. Interment was in Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Tillamook. M em o rial d o n a tions in Agnes’s name may be m ade to a charity o f choice. Arrangem ents are in care o f Waud’s Funeral Home o f Tillamook. number for use by the G T office The GT reserves the right to edit letters The G T is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under "Card of Thanks' at a cost of $10. On the HEPPNER WEBSITE: www.heppner.net • Start or Change a Subscription • Place a Classified Ad • Submit a News Story • View Real Estate for Sale • City Council & Planning Minutes • Local Businesses • County Park • Willow Creek Park Reservations • Free Digital Postcards • Senior Housing • and more! ~ Why Letters to the Editor ~ no women in Hall of Fame? Having lived in the lone/Heppner area from 1969 - 2002 1 know for a fact that lone has had and continues to have some dynamic, dedicated women involved in their community. Surely the committee could have nominated at least one woman from 1922 - 1960. Even more ironic is the fact that the banquet contact people are two women! Karen Beck Warrenton Health D epartm ent readies for HI NI continued from page one such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen Smith also said the Department should be getting more seasonal flu (non H 1N 1) vaccine around the middle of November. When the vaccine comes in the county will be rescheduling all previously cancelled clinics. Jfrom tf)e 1957 arcfjibes of tfje heppner ^asette-GTtmesi Heppner students given holiday when flu empties most classrooms 61% missing from high school Monday Flu, colds and other related illnesses last weekend laid low such a great number o f Heppner High and grade students that school officials, after taking one look Monday morning at the empty seats called a halt to classes and dismissed all students until Tuesday, November 12. A count o f drippy noses in the high school Monday morning showed there were only 52 students present out o f an enrollment of 134 - an absenteeism o f over 61 percent, and many of those who showed up shouldn’t have been there, it was reported. Across the street in the elementary school 112 students were missing out of an enrollment o f 365, not such a heavy percentage as in the high school except that in some o f the 5,h and 6,h grade classes there were only five or six students. Joining the students on sick list were four teachers, including one who had been in the hospital for several days with pneumonia. The Heppner schools had been lucky during past weeks in dodging the flu epidemic which has struck in many parts o f the state, but last Friday the disease began to make inroads on attendance. That morning over 50 students were absent, but by after noon another 30 or more had given up the fight and went home to bed. The Friday epidemic seriously affected the high school’s annual homecoming celebration and led directly to Stanfield’s 30 to 0 shellacking of the Mus tangs that night at the rodeo field. Only 18 football boys were suited up for the game and two or three of those who did get to the field probably shouldn’t have been there. The normal football turnout is about 34 boys. School officials said this week that it will not be necessary to hold classes later in the spring to make up for the five days which will be lost this week inasmuch as the state allows schools 10 days off their regular planned schedule due to emergency. The epidemic has not been confined just to school youngsters during the past several days as there have been a great many adults stricken since last week end. There has still been no laboratory report received here as to whether the disease is actually Asian flu or some other variety, but whatever the type is has taken its toll in the Heppner area. At the present time no other county schools are reporting any great number o f cases, county health officials reported. Lexington and lone Schools report only a normal absentee list for the past week or 10 days._______ ,_____________________________ ________ Marjorie Katherine Peterson Skuzeski Marge passed away in a Portland Hospice Cen ter July 5, 2009, after a short battle with cancer. She was born in lone to Henry and Adina Peterson July 2, 1924. She was raised on “the ranch” 20 miles south of lone in the Goosebury area. As a little girl she learned the farm chores by helping mom in feeding chickens, collecting and washing the eggs, and lending a hand in the home, including meals. Marge attended a one room R ocky B luff) school that taught grades 1 through 8. School was a mile and a half from the ranch, and often, including bad w eather, rather than walk would ride her horse Babe to school. She had to join lone 8,h grade gradua tion for her diploma. She was popular and active in high school. Marge enjoyed band, choir, piano, 4-H, stu dent body secretary, flirting with the boys and socializ ing with many friends. After high school, she worked a short time in Heppner for an attorney and the county tax department before going to Portland to find work. During this time, M arge and a lo n g -tim e friend, Jean Coleman, de cided to join the Navy. They becam e the first wom en from M orrow County to do so. Marge was sent to H u n ter C ollege in New York for boot camp. There she trained as a telegrapher and served in W ashing ton D.C. and C leveland, OH. She was discharged in 1946. T he su m m e r o f 1946 w as the beginning o f her relatio n sh ip with John. It began when John asked Marge for a date to the dance. A year later they were m arried in Heppner on June 28, 1947, in St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. Just recently M arge and John celebrated their mar riage o f 62 years. In the Harold E. Kerr H a ro ld E. K err passed away on October 16, 2009 at his home in Corvallis. He was bom in Ar- buckle, CA April 22, 1935 to Dorothy and Ray Kerr. Harold was raised in Lakev- iew and was the eldest of five children. He began his em ployment with Oregon State U n iv e rsity in 1958 and worked for the university for 30 years. He worked as a 4-H agent in Crook County and a crops and livestock agent in Morrow and Wasco Counties. He served as an associate director for the OSU Extension Service in C orvallis for eight years. beginning, Marge worked joyed RV trips to the coast, on the OSU campus during vacations to Kah-nee-tah, the three years o f and they shared a Jo h n ’s schooling. love for shopping and animals. They T h eir o ld est son, S te v e , w as b o rn w ere in se p a rab le and team ed up on during last term o f g ra n d p a w hen it school. Their sec cam e tim e to go ond son, Tom, was places and allow b orn in 1951 in Marjorie Katherine ing do g s on th e Portland. couch. Nicole was Marge was Peterson rem inded recently a homemaker taking Skuzezki she preferred to be care o f two small boys, which was no small with grandma than home. task. The family remembers Nicole remembers grandma Marge as a good cook from as witty, kind, ever forgiv her Swedish recipes, home ing, and the best grandma a made Christm as candies, girl could ask for. In addition to being and good gravies. Grandpa Henry would come to Port a wife, mom, and grandma, land for a family seafood Marge was a Swede and let feast. Marge and her dad everyone know that. She would buy shopping bags was alw ays asking o th o f clams, crabs, etcetera. ers if they were Swedish One year John came home too. M arge w ould m ake from work to find the two K rum kachas, a Sw edish had made Lute Fisk in the cookie for Christmas and house. The smell was so give them to her friends. bad John asked to remove She would remind Nicole the meal to the garage to get every time she came to visit o f the brass candlesticks the smell from the house. Marge was a lov that came over with Mar ing, devoted mother. She ge’s family from Sweden. taught Bible study at St. She loved her heritage and M arks and w as a room would often tell stories o f m other for S te v e ’s first her Swedish roots. She held grade class through high the Valby Lutheran Church sch o o l. The g rad u a tin g dear to her heart. M arge and John seniors at M arshal High School gave her a plaque enjoyed 45 years of travel at their final assembly rec ing in their RVs. She en ognizing her for all those joyed the coast at Netarts years with them. Tom re and Nehalem where they members mom was not only had property. They spent nurturing, but sewed their 13 winters in Arizona with clothes, took care of them friends and many months when sick, and was the one in Santa Rosa, CA where person they could go to for their oldest son lived. Re understanding and comfort cently, Marge was asking when they got into trouble John where they could get with dad. Tom says, “she a new RV so they could did these things and many get to the coast again. Two more because she was my winters ago they lost one to a storm. mom.” M o st know and Marge was a dearly treasured grandma. She only will remember Marge for had one grandchild, Nicole, her sense o f style. Marge and they spent a great deal was alw ays w earing the o f tim e together. M arge latest fashion, including b ab y sat re g u la rly w hen earrings and bracelets. Al N icole was a baby, took ways looking for an excuse Nicole every Tuesday after to shop, she took advantage school all the way through of John working for Jantzen middle school and spent the to the point the Jantzen summers together. They en sales ladies would call her every time a new line came into the store. W hen she w atched N icole the two would hit malls to the extent that the sales people would ask where Nicole was when Marge was shopping alone. Garage sales were also a love o f M arge’s. Garage sales are where she would find tole painting supplies, which she had a ton of. She had a talent for tole paint ing. Marge loved shopping because she was able to interact with other people. Marge was a social person. It was impossible to go anywhere with Marge without her stopping to talk with someone whether she knew them or not, espe cially if there was a baby or dog. In the 50s they moved into a neighborhood with neighbors that w ere the sam e age w ith children. Marge helped form a sew ing club that m et every T h u rsd ay at s o m e o n e ’s house on the street. Not knowing how much sew ing was done, the group did last some 40 years. She spent time socializing with Swedish pinochle club for 30 years. Marge is survived by: her husband John; son Tom; granddaughter Nicole Grimes; and brothers Henry “Ted” Peterson o f Portland and H erbert Peterson o f lone. She was preceded in death by: her son Steven and brother Robert Peter son. She was a devoted wife, loving mother, trea sured grandm a, and b e loved sister. Through her friendship, kindness, sense o f humor, love for others, and love o f life. M arge’s m em ory and sp irit w ill live in our hearts and our memories. Celebration o f life services were held July 16, 2009 at G ethsem ane Lu theran Church in Portland. Interment with military hon ors was held at Willamette National Cemetary. He w orked at Stahlbush was very active in Corvallis Island Farms for more than Kiwanis. He was an avid 10 years following g o lfe r and had a his retirement from hole-in-one ju st a few years ago. He the university. will be missed by He and his wife enjoyed trav his family and his many friends from eling and spending tim e with friends. children to adults. Harold H e s e r v e d as a Harold E. VOCA volunteer in Kerr u s e d to sa y “ A L ithuania helping stranger is a friend to develop a new I haven’t met yet.” extension service for the And so he lived his life. Al country. He has been a though he had more friends 4-H club leader for about than m ost can im agine, 12 years. He truly enjoyed Harold was always look working with youth and ev ing for the next stranger to eryone he met was a friend. befriend. In his final hours, He was a faithful Beaver he was surrounded by his supporter and a m em ber family. o f the president’s club. He He is survived by: his w ife Carol whom he married in 1959; a daugh ter, Cindy, and son-in-law Bill Roeser o f Lake O s wego; and a son, Bryan, and daughter-in-law, Tami Kerr o f Corvallis. A memorial service will be held on Monday, O ctober 26, at 1 p.m. at the Northwest Hills Com munity Church, 3300 NW W alnut Blvd., C orvallis, OR. Remembrances may be m ade to Benton County Hospice or Oregon Agriculture in the C lass room, 305 Strand Ag Hall, Oregon State University, C o rv allis, OR 97331 or http://aitc.orestate.edu.
