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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2020)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 7, 2020 -- THREE Obituaries Bernard Damon Bernard Damon passed Willagillespie. Their first child, John, away September 19, 2020 at RiverBend Hospital due was born at Sacred Heart Hospital in 1961. to complications from The family moved melanoma cancer. He to Heppner to help was a very special fa- Jean’s folks on their ther, grandfather and ranch. John’s broth- friend. er Mark was born in He was born in La Pendleton in 1962. Grande, OR on July Their sister, Ann, 12, 1935 to O.W. and was born in Eu- Josephine Damon. He Bernard Damon gene in 1965, when and his older brother, Bernard returned Gilbert, attended a two-room school in Fruit- to teaching and went on to dale, a suburb of La Grande. get his master’s degree at He often rode horseback to the U of O. He worked at school and hitched his horse Kennedy Junior High and Churchill High School as a to a post. He went to La Grande counselor. In 1976, the family High School and met new friends. After graduation, traveled across the U.S. as he attended Eastern Oregon they pulled a tent trailer to College to become a teach- see the East Coast. They er. At the end of his sopho- loved camping together. After Bernard retired, more year, he met his future wife, Jean Marie Graham, he managed the ranch in at a rodeo dance in Union, Heppner. He enjoyed tak- OR. She also attended EOC ing his four grandchildren, to become a teacher. She Eric, Tyler, Allison and grew up on a ranch in Hep- Julia on long rides and pner, owned by her parents teaching them to drive on the ranch. What a gift to and grandparents. Bernard went to Na- his family. He treasured his mo- tional Guard Camp at Fort Ord for six months during ments with friends and the the summer of 1957. On weekly lunch bunch. He his return, he and Jean were was also thankful for Ann’s married at All Saints Epis- husband, Dan, John’s wife copal Church on December Kristen and Eric’s wife 29, 1957. They were happi- Jaimie. A private family service ly married for 63 years. His first teaching job will be held at Gillespie was at the elementary Cemetery. Arrangements school in Cove, OR. After entrusted to Lane Memorial Jean graduated from col- Funeral Home in Eugene. lege, they moved to Eu- Please sign the guest book gene. He taught at Whitaker at www.registerguard.com/ School and she taught at legacy. Arthur Thomas “Art” Kegler Art Kegler, grocer, Re- altor and public servant, passed away September 4, 2020 at the age of 88. He was born Arthur Thomas Kegler on July 15, 1932 to Archibald and Alffaret- ta (Schuster) Kegler in Edgerton, Wisconsin. Art moved with his family to Vancouver, WA as a young boy and graduated from Vancouver High School at the age of 16. He then attended the University of Oregon, earning a bache- lor’s degree in business and general studies. While in college, he was hired to work at Mont- gomery Ward’s by Rose Cerkoney, whom he fell in love with and married on September 20, 1952. Over the next 30 years Art engaged in several en- trepreneurial pursuits from Eugene, Roseburg and Ti- gard, OR to California. Along the way four chil- dren joined Art and Rose’s family; Terri, Matt, Dean and Mark. In 1983 the entire fam- ily moved to Boardman where Art found his home and place in the sun. Art bought the grocery store, made a change of hours and Arthur t h e r e d e - Thomas ‘Art’ signed Keg- Kegler ler’s Sentry Market was only one of the top five stores in the state to scan products at the check- out counter. The store is now a Select Market. When the store first opened, the whole family was involved. Rose was the upstairs bookkeeper, Matt, Dean and Mark kept the shelves stocked and the cash registers staffed and Art not only managed the operation but became ac- tive in the Sentry Market’s wholesale business. Daugh- ter Terri did her part by mar- rying Jerry Reser of Reser’s Fine Foods, a wholesaler of specialty food items. Not to let grass grow under his feet, Art learned the real estate business, earned his broker’s license and opened his office as American West Properties in 1994, originally in the Sentry Market building. Art later expanded his Amer- Spiritually Speaking Let us celebrate By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB, St. Patrick Church Celebrations are part and parcel of our life. The ma- jority of us look forward to celebrations such as birthday parties, wedding parties, retirement parties, etc., as they are occasions of joy and gaiety that add vigor and vitality to everyone’s life. If these celebrations are special and only for a select crowd, we feel thrilled to be summoned. We wouldn’t dream of saying “no” to a VIP invitation, especially if the person mattered to us a lot. The Lord Jesus is inviting every one of us wholeheartedly to the Eucharistic celebration of the Last Supper. Faith is an invitation to celebrate God in our life and the Eucharist is the festive banquet. Have we accepted the invitation, will we join in the banquet, or do we have our stock excuses? The prophet Isaiah (25: 6-10) uses the allegory of a banquet to describe the fullness of life that God wants to bestow, not just on Israel, but on all the peoples of the earth. “On this mountain the Lord will prepare a banquet for all peoples…. on this mountain he will wipe the tears from every cheek. This is our God in whom we hoped for salvation.” The banquet that Lord hosts stands for the fullness of life to which God is calling us all. It is a call to celebrate our intimacy with God and a deeper and more authentic personal life. But it is also a call to community with others. The invitation challenges us to abandon our seclusion and our self-sufficiency and to be willing to share with others, to associate with others, and to collaborate with others. We are not invited to celebrate and satisfy our needs, but to enjoy and reach out to one another. During this time of pandemic, this particular passage is very apt for all of us. The reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians (4: 12-14 & 19-20) stresses the fact that Christians’ prior- ity is salvation in Christ. The hope of salvation relativizes the value of every other good. This is the experience of Paul who knows “what it is to have little and to have plenty” and how to live in different circumstances: eating well and going hungry, having plenty or being in need. Paul asserts his firm hope in the Lord, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me,” and asks the Philippians to do likewise. These words of St. Paul should strengthen every one of us to build up self-confidence and courage as we face the pandemic situation around us. Today’s Gospel, Matthew (22:1-14), compares two parables, the one of the guests at the wedding feast and that of the man not wearing the wedding robe, both par- ables dealing with being invited to the kingdom. The first parable is linked with the banquet mentioned in Isaiah, the kingdom to which all are invited. In the first century, a dual invitation was customary. Guests were invited ican West Properties to a enjoyed a round of golf location in Hermiston. He and hunting and fishing served as president of the with friends and family. Oregon Association of Re- He especially found time altors and has served many to enjoy family, particu- years on their Government larly his grandchildren and Affairs Committee. In 2003 great-grandchildren. His he was appointed by the wife Rose suffered from a Governor to the Oregon long and debilitating illness Real Estate Board. Art’s and Art was her dedicated son Dean is now one of 15 caregiver and companion members of the executive until her death. board of the Oregon Associ- Art was preceded in ation of Realtors, a position death by his parents, Clar- Art has held. ence and Alfaretta Kegler; While Art maintained son, Mark; grandson, Mat- his American West Prop- thew, and brother, Ted. erties office in Boardman, He is survived by recently in the Port of Mor- daughter, Terri and hus- row office building, his band Jerry Reser; sons, Hermiston office was home Matt and Dean Kegler; to six brokers at the time of eight grandchildren and 17 his death. great-grandchildren. Not only did Art take an A private family gath- active volunteer role in his ering will be held. professional and business The family suggests organizations but he was an memorial contributions active and effective mem- be sent to Funland Park ber of local affairs as well. Playground Rebuild Project Art served on the Morrow through the City of Herm- County Planning Commis- iston Parks and Recreation, sion and the Boardman City to Animal Relief Fund or Planning Commission. He to the Boardman Senior served a four-year term as Center. Boardman’s mayor and was Joshua 1:19 “Have I serving on the Boardman not commanded you? Be City Council at the time of strong and courageous. Do his passing. not be terrified; do not be As dedicated as he was discouraged, for the Lord to professional and commu- your God will be with you nity affairs, Art thoroughly wherever you go.” well in advance and again gathered when the feast was about to begin. The banquet is prepared, everything is ready, and the king sum- mons the guests. Shocking- ly, some simply ignore the invitation, others head out of town, and the rest beat up and kill the king’s mes- sengers. They all have their Fr. Thankachan Joseph excuses and justifications. Now days, we hear a lot about these types of excuses with regards to God and church matters. It was in a story by Flor McCarthy that we published in “New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies.” Once there was a tailor who mended the clothes of everybody in town, yet he himself went about with his coat in tatters. And to the embarrassment of everybody, he appeared like that in Church on Sundays. One Sunday a friend said to him, “It’s a disgrace that you, a respectable tailor, should go around in a tattered coat. Shame on you for coming here dressed like that.” “But what can I do? I’m a poor man and I have to work all week to make a living.” the tailor replied. “Where am I going to find the time to mend my own clothes?” “Look,” said the friend. “Here’s $20. Think of me as one of your customers. I’m paying you to mend your own coat. “I’ll agree to that,” cried the tailor as he took the money. However, when he came to Church the following Sunday the friend noticed that once again, he was dressed in his old tattered coat. Extremely annoyed, the friend said to him, “Now there is no excuse for this kind of behavior. Didn’t I give you $20 last Sunday to mend your coat? Yet I can see that you never even touched it.” “What can I do?” said the tailor apologetically. “When I went home last Sunday and examined my coat, I realized that I’d be losing money on the job if I did it for $20.” A man like that will always find excuses. Now days, we have excuses for not doing what we know we are supposed to do. And we have excuses for doing what we know we shouldn’t do. Some of these excuses are reasonable, some shabby. “Suppose your son is returning home after being out of the country for five years. He’s scheduled to arrive sometime next week, but he’s not sure whether it will be on Thursday or Friday. You call two of his closest friends and invite them to a welcome-home dinner. You explain the situation and ask them to hold both dates open. They agree enthusiastically. When news comes that your son will arrive on Friday, you call his friends back and say, ‘The dinner will be on Friday night.’ They shock you by saying, ‘Sorry! We’ve made other plans for that night.’ -It was this kind of situation that Jesus had in mind in today’s parable. To say ‘yes’ to the advance invitation and ‘no’ at a later date was an insult.” – Mark Link The refusing guests are like the original invitees to God’s kingdom, God’s chosen people, the Jewish peo- ple and in particular their leaders who not only refused to accept the invitation but put to death the son of God himself. In the parable, after sending his troops to deal with the murderers, far from grumbling, the king orders his servants to go to the highways and byways and invite everyone they see, both the good and the bad, to the wed- ding feast. The “good and the bad” are invited to make it clear that people are not invited because of their merits but rather because of the generous goodness of God. Matthew continues with a second parable with anoth- er theme. Among those who come into the banquet, the king notices a man without the wedding garment. He is questioned and thrown out of the banquet. Why was the king so harsh on the man who was invited at the last mo- ment? On the literal level, it seems absurd that he would have a fine garment after being picked up from the street. Evidently, there is a deeper point being made: accepting the invitation to the kingdom requires a certain practical behavior, to which the image of a robe is referring. Since clothing can be a symbol of new identification with Christ, the wedding garment evokes the good deeds or quality of life that must be shown by one who participates in the banquet of life. Those who accept God’s invitation can’t just walk in and continue to live as they want; they must change, they must be seen wearing the wedding garment, living the Christian life, graced by God and overflowing in deeds of justice and love. This invitation from Jesus is one that we may need to hear far more often than we realize. It’s a gentle in- vitation to let our Lord lighten our daily burden, relieve our worries, our stress, our concerns and all that weighs us down. It’s an invitation of love and mercy and is one we should always accept. Jesus instructs us, “Make your home in Me as I make My home in you.” Although we are unable to celebrate as we would wish due to the Covid-19 pandemic, let us continue to celebrate God in our lives, in the company of and reaching out to one another where possible. Prepare for power outages with a Generac home standby generator SCHEDULE YOUR FREE IN-HOME ASSESSMENT TODAY! 844-942-3614 FREE 7-Year Extended Warranty* A $695 Value! Off er valid August 24, 2020 - December 31, 2020 Special Financing Available Subject to Credit Approval *Terms & Conditions Apply
