TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 19, 2023
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
nephews.
Heppner
Memorial contributions
for those who wish may be
made to the Morrow Coun-
U.S.P.S. 240-420
ty Farm Museum, PO Box
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
515, Heppner, OR 97836.
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: Sweeney Mortuary of Hep-
pner is in charge of arrange-
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
ments. You may sign the
Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post
Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid
online condolence book at
at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax
www.sweeneymortuary.
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Obituaries
GAZETTE-TIMES
P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $35 in Morrow County; $40
senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $30 elsewhere; $35 student
subscriptions.
Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea Di Salvo ............................................................................................ Editor
Cindi Doherty.........................................................................................Advertising
All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.
For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.50 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $15 up to 100
words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.00 per column inch.
For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi-
cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested 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 GT at no charge and are edited to
meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines
or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space
for the obituary.
For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner
GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone
number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT 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.
Obituaries
Gary Lee
Nolan
Gary Lee Nolan 73,
of Lex-
ington
passed
a w a y
peace-
f u l l y
in his
garden
swing at
his home on Wednesday,
March 22, 2023. A memo-
rial service will be held at
3 p.m. Saturday, April 22,
2023, at the Kingdom Hall
of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
2260 NE 4 th Street, Herm-
iston, OR.
He was born in Grand
Coulee, WA to William and
Donna Belle Nolan on Dec.
24, 1949. Gary grew up on a
farm in Hermiston, OR and
graduated from Hermiston
High School in 1968. On
April 1, 1972, Gary married
the love of his life, Heather.
They started their family
in Hermiston. He moved
his family to Lexington in
1976, where he worked at
Kinzua Lumber Mill until
the plywood plant ceased
operation, after which he
worked at Pioneer Memo-
rial Hospital for over 20
years. He later owned and
operated his janitorial busi-
ness until retirement.
Gary will be deeply
missed by all who knew
him. He will be remem-
bered by family as a loving
husband, a dedicated loving
father who was always
there when you needed
him, a reliable brother who
always made you feel spe-
cial, and a kind-hearted,
loving and fun grandfather.
In addition to spending time
with his family and friends,
he enjoyed cultivating his
garden, assembling puzzles,
relaxing with his pets, and
collecting Mickey Mouse
memorabilia.
He was a deeply spiri-
tual man and used his time
and his understanding of
Bible truth to teach others.
Gary expressed his unshak-
able faith in Jehovah God
and his hope of promised
resurrection on paradise
earth where tears, death and
pain will be no more (John
5:28, 29; Revelation 21:4).
Gary is survived by his
sister, Sharon; His wife,
Heather; his seven chil-
dren, Jonathan, Timothy,
Anthony, Tamar, Charles,
Nathanael and Daniel; 16
grandchildren, Meghan,
Taylor, Keiran, Kianna,
Anthony Ryder, Liam, Rox-
ann, Kylie, Sage, Avi, Cesar
Alexander, Zeus, Loghan,
Jeffrey, Zeruiah and Sim.
He is also survived by one
great-grandchild, Sylas.
Memorial contributions
may be made to Watchtow-
er Bible and Tract Society
of New York, Inc., Attn:
Donor Support, 900 Red
Mills Road, Wallkill, NY,
US 12589-5200, or Donate.
JW.org.
Sweeney Mortuary of
Heppner is in care of ar-
rangements. You may sign
the online condolence book
at www.sweeneymortuary.
com.
Vilas Daniel
Ropp
Vilas Daniel Ropp, 65, of
Lexing-
ton died
S u n d a y,
March 26,
2023, at
his home
outside
of Lex-
ington. A
private graveside service
was held at the Lexington
Cemetery. A memorial ser-
vice will be held at a later
date.
He was born August 23,
1957, in Albany, OR to
Daniel and Irva Roth Ropp,
the third of six children. His
father worked as a grass
seed cleaner whose job took
the family to Klamath Falls,
OR when Vilas was in the
fifth or sixth grade.
His dad’s poor health took
the family to live on the Or-
egon Coast when Vilas was
in high school. He attended
Taft High School in Lincoln
City. While in high school,
Vilas bought a fishing boat
and started commercial
fishing out of Depoe Bay.
Vilas married Deb Majes-
ke on April 2, 1977, in
Heppner. While living at
the coast, Vilas and Deb
had two daughters, Linsey
Marie in 1979 and Ashley
Deb in 1981. In 1982 the
couple moved to Lexington,
where Vilas began farming
with his father-in-law, Gene
Majeske, and they have
resided there since.
Vilas didn’t know a stranger
and, as one of his grandsons
said, carried on the funni-
est conversations. He had
many hobbies, hunting and
fishing being among his
favorites. He loved spend-
ing time with family and
always offered advice and
experience whenever and
wherever needed.
He was preceded in death
by his parents, Dan and
Irva; his in-laws, Gene and
Ally Majeske; and his in-
fant sister, Maryetta Ropp.
Survivors include his wife
of 46 years, Deb; his daugh-
ter Linsey Kellogg (Bran-
don); grand-daughter Tate-
lynn Kellogg of Pendleton;
daughter Ashley Lindsay
(Dan); grandkids, Paul,
John, Claire, Max, Lucy,
Kenny and Lauren Lind-
say of Lexington; siblings,
Gene Ropp (Jennifer) of
McMinnville, Merve Ropp
of Albany, Mavis Peterson
(Joe) of Salem and Larry
Ropp (Nelda) of Bend;
and numerous nieces and
Linda Ellen
(Smith)
Wilhelm
Linda Ellen (Smith)
Wilhelm,
65, of
Lexing-
ton, OR
passed
a w a y
f r o m
cancer
surrounded by her family
at her daughter’s home in
Irrigon on Thursday, April
6, 2023. A celebration of
life with close family will
be held at the beach.
She was born Feb. 22,
1958, in Burns, OR to par-
ents Howard and Ernestine
Smith.
Linda grew up on a
ranch along Willow Creek
and graduated from Arling-
ton High School.
She married her high
school sweetheart Ronald
“Ron” Wilhelm on July 30,
1977, in Pendleton, OR.
They bought a home in Lex-
ington soon after, and that is
where they raised their four
children: Damien, Saman-
tha, Rhonda and Veronica.
Linda loved her family
and friends more than any-
thing. Her most treasured
times were making mem-
ories and spending time
with them. She was pas-
sionate about the outdoors
and loved being in nature,
which included camping,
the beach, gardening, mush-
room hunting, spending
time in the mountains, time
around the campfire and
thunderstorms on a warm
summer night. She enjoyed
coloring, reading, listening
to classic rock music and
absolutely loved watching
all things WWE.
Survivors include her
husband of 46 years, Ron;
her son, Damien Wilhelm
of Lexington; daughters,
Samantha Linkel (Sean) of
Hermiston, Rhonda Acock
(Zac) of Irrigon and Veron-
ica Wilhelm of Portland;
three grandsons, Zane, Ja-
cob and Trew; two grand-
daughters, Ali and Zoey;
two sisters, Peggy and Cin-
da; and a brother, Whit.
Linda is preceded in
death by her parents, How-
ard and Ernestine Smith.
Memorial contributions
can be made to Pioneer Me-
morial Hospice, PO Box 97,
Heppner, OR 97836.
Sweeney Mortuary of
Heppner is in charge of ar-
rangements. You may sign
the online condolence book
at www.sweeneymortuary.
com.
Rea retires
from IRFD
board
Red and Gena Leonard Foundation
seeking applicants
The Red and Gena
Leonard Foundation is ac-
cepting scholarship appli-
cations from students who
will graduate this year or
have graduated in the past
or obtained a GED from
Arlington, Boardman, Con-
don, Echo, Fossil, Heppner,
Hermiston, Ione, Irrigon,
Monument, Pendleton, Pi-
lot Rock, Spray, Stanfield,
Ukiah or Umatilla high
schools.
Students must attend
an accredited college, uni-
versity, community col-
lege, vocational, trade or
technical program based
in Oregon; exceptions may
be made if the training
they seek is not offered in
Oregon.
It is the intent of the
Red and Gena Leonard
Foundation to benefit aver-
age students of good char-
acter with poor financial
circumstances who have
a desire to seek further
educational opportunities
but who, due to their lack
of scholastic performance,
have limited ability to re-
ceive scholarships.
In the selection pro-
cess, priority will be given
to students who: are not at
the top academically; have
limited financial resources;
show the ability to be or
become upstanding citi-
zens; and have an interest
in a trade or blue-collar type
profession. Gena Leonard
was a nurse by trade; to
honor her, the foundation
also would like to offer
scholarships to students
attending nursing school or
other medical-related fields.
Preference in reading
applications is given to
students seeking a degree
or certificate in an ag or
trade program; however,
the foundation gives schol-
arships to students seeking
a variety of degrees/certif-
icates.
Applicants do not have
to be current high school
graduates. The foundation
has a strong interest in help-
ing adults return to school
for education or additional
training to better their po-
sition in the workplace and
the community.
Since it began award-
ing scholarships, the Red
and Gena Leonard Foun-
dation has awarded 3,017
scholarships totaling $6.1
million dollars all to local
students.
Applications may be
obtained on our website at
http://www.leonardfounda-
tion.org, from high school
counselors, at BMCC or by
contacting Tracy Gammell
at rglfoundation@qwest-
office.net. The deadline to
submit an application is
April 30.
For more information
contact Tracy Gammell,
Executive Director, PO
Box 1024, Hermiston, OR
97838 or email rglfounda-
tion@qwestoffice.net.
Neighborhood Center to hold
weekly bag sales through May
The Neighborhood
Center has announced that
from now through the end
of May, bag sales will be
held every Friday in order
to clear out existing inven-
tory.
The Neighborhood
Center will not be accept-
ing thrift store donations for
the near future but will still
accept donations of food for
the food pantry. Through
the month of April, the
center will be closed on
Mondays and will open at
10:30 a.m. rather than 9:30
a.m. on other scheduled
days.
For more information,
contact interim coordinator
Kelly Fritz at the Neighbor-
hood Center.
PORT OF MORROW COMMISSIONER
Committed to:
✔ Transparency and Accountability
✔ Responsible Economic Growth
✔ County-wide Representation
Paid for by Murray for POM Commission
Equipment Purchases • Operating Lines
Let’s Prepare for a
New Season!
See Amber for
Equipment Purchases
and
Operating Lines
of Credit.
AMBER SCHLAICH
270 N. Main Street / Heppner
(541) 676-9125
Ag/Commercial Loan Officer
Ione Rural Fire Department
chairman Joe McElligott
(right) presents a plaque to
retiring board member Keith
Rea in gratitude for his 14
years serving on the IRFD
board. -Photo by Anne Morter
SPECIALIZING IN AGRICULTURAL & COMMERCIAL LOANS
MEMBER FDIC