TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 26, 2025
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE:
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
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
at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 177 N Main St. Telephone (541) 676-9228. E-mail:
editor@rapidserve.net or sykeschris@hotmail.com Web site: www.heppner.net. Post-
master send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 337, Heppner,
Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: In Morrow County $36/year. Outside Morrow County
$41/year. In County Senior Rate (65 years or older) $31/year. 9 month Student student
subscriptions $36/year.
Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea DiSalvo ............................................................................................. 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 $5.65 per
column inch. Cost for classified ad is 55¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $16 up to 100
words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.15 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 $16
Obituaries
Patricia
Doreen
(Turner)
Edmundson
Patricia Doreen (Turner)
Edmundson
Patricia Doreen (Turn-
er) Edmundson, 89, passed
away peacefully on Feb. 15,
2025, after a long, happy,
and fruitful life. Services
will be held at All Saints
Episcopal Church in Hep-
pner on March 29, begin-
ning at 11 a.m. Lunch will
follow the service, with a
private interment at Pine
Grove Butte Cemetery near
Hood River, OR. In hon-
or of Pat’s favorite color,
please feel free to wear pink
to her service.
She was born on April
5, 1935, near Cassville,
MO, to Lester Loren Turner
and Vera (Phillips) Turner.
Her family moved to
Hoisington, KS, when Pat
was just three months old.
Pat’s early years were filled
with joy, riding with her
father in their Model T, car-
rying her cap gun six-shoot-
er, and being a carefree
child. Legend has it that
her mother made her a new
dress every day! With her
“Shirley Temple” curls, she
was simply adorable.
The family later relo-
cated to Hood River, OR,
where her father worked as
a lineman for PP&L, and
her mother was a floor lady
at Stadelman Fruit Com-
pany. Since boys and girls
were segregated during
recess in the fourth grade,
it wasn’t until seventh grade
that Pat met her future hus-
band, John. Pat and “Eddie”
(as she affectionately called
him) began their friendship
in math class, where they
would chat after finishing
their assignments early,
despite sharp reprimands
from their teacher.
Pat’s family eventually
moved to The Dalles, OR,
where she attended high
school, graduating in 1953.
She was active in sports,
music (playing the clari-
net), and was extremely
social. Despite living in
rival towns, she continued
to visit Eddie in Hood River
regularly. John jokes that
Pat had to “chase him up
several mountains to catch
him,” including Mt. St. Hel-
ens, Mt. Hood (twice!), and
Mt. Adams (twice!). Pat and
John were married on Dec.
29, 1956, and both became
teachers. Their first child,
Victoria Rae, was born in
1959, followed by Kristin
Lee in 1960, and Jeffrey
Brian in 1962. When Vicki
was just six weeks old, Pat
and Vicki flew to Boston,
MA, to join John, who was
participating in the National
Education in Science Fel-
lowship at Boston College.
Pat thoroughly enjoyed this
nine-month adventure.
Pat had an outstanding
professional career as an
elementary school teach-
er. She prepared for her
teaching career by studying
at Willamette University
for one year, followed by
three terms at Oregon State
University and five terms at
Oregon College of Educa-
tion, where she graduated
with a teaching degree in
1958. Notably, when Eddie
and Pat were on their way to
their honeymoon on the Or-
egon Coast, Eddie insisted
on stopping in Monmouth
so that Pat could register for
school, even though she had
planned to put her higher
education on hold to sup-
port their family. When the
new term at Oregon Col-
lege of Education began,
Pat showed her tenacity by
hitchhiking to Monmouth
from Salem every day to
complete her teaching de-
gree, as the young couple
did not yet own a car.
Pat’s first teaching
assignment was with the
Salem, OR School Dis-
trict, where she held vari-
ous full-year positions and
substitute teaching roles
at different grade levels.
While her husband was
in graduate school at the
University of Oregon, Pat
taught for three years in the
Springfield School District,
which turned out to be a
very rewarding experience.
While in the Salem
area, Pat was involved in
AAUW and an Internation-
al Gourmet Cooking Group,
among many other activi-
ties, including participat-
ing in Young Republicans.
In the summer of 1972,
John took a position as the
principal at Ione in Eastern
Oregon. Pat and John felt
that moving the family to
Eastern Oregon was the
best decision they ever
made. Pat took a position as
a first-grade teacher in Hep-
pner, where she taught for
twenty-three years until her
retirement, often teaching
the children of her former
students, and maybe even
a third generation! Pat was
an extremely skilled teacher
who touched the lives of
Obituaries
many students. She will be
remembered as the beloved
“Mrs. Edmundson.” Many
students will also remember
sitting in her big clawfoot
bathtub, filled with pillows,
while they read a book.
Over the years, Pat en-
joyed many outdoor activi-
ties with her family, includ-
ing snow skiing, hiking, and
camping. Pat showed her
devotion to family by doc-
umenting their history with
almost 100 photo albums.
She was very generous
in sharing her photogra-
phy skills with family and
friends, a true labor of love.
The family became avid
golfers at Willow Creek
Country Club (WCCC). Pat
won several Women’s Club
Championships and served
as the WCCC handicap
chairperson, a position that
garnered a statewide award
from the Oregon Golf Asso-
ciation (OGA). She loved to
golf and always followed
the rules! Pat received a
second annual award from
the OGA as a local course
director. Toll painting and
bunco were two of Pat’s
favorite activities, often
enjoyed with her beloved
White Zinfandel wine. Pat
also treasured her time with
friends in the Bookworms
Book Club and her Birthday
Group, who were dedicated
to celebrating birthdays
with style and at least one
toast! Playing a variety of
games was always a fa-
vorite activity for Pat, who
thoroughly enjoyed a wide
range of card games from
bridge to Uno, but per-
haps her favorite game was
Quiddler, which she shared
with great enthusiasm.
Pat loved spending time
with her six granddaughters
and was instrumental in
helping her youngest grand-
daughter, Jillian, overcome
the challenges of autism
spectrum disorder. Jilli
owes much of her success
to her grandma’s early in-
tervention.
Pat is survived by her
devoted husband of 68
years, John; daughters Vic-
ki Edmundson and Kris-
ti (Mark) Smalley; son
Jeff (Sheila) Edmundson;
granddaughters Emi-
ly (Jason) Baumgartner,
Erin (Shane) Lair, Kirsten
(James) Papanastasiou, Jor-
dan (Hugo) Santos, Megan
(Nick) Shaffer, and Jillian
Smalley; and great-grand-
children Audrey, Brooke,
Raelee, Adley, Max, Ar-
cher, Owen, Henry, Jacoby,
Evvy, Coco, Russy, Ada,
Hattie, Georgia, and Tava.
In lieu of flowers, do-
nations can be made to
Special Olympics LP#510
c/o Kristi Smalley, 405 W.
Moore Ave., Hermiston,
OR 97838.
Sweeney Payton Mor-
tuary has been entrust-
ed with the arrangements.
Please leave your messages
for the family at sweeney-
paytonmortuary.com.
Mary
Katherine
McLeod
Her family moved from
Nebraska to Junction City,
OR in 1937.
She married David Mc-
Leod on Dec. 5, 1946, in
Skamania, WA. Early in
their married life they lived
on a ranch on Rhea Creek.
In 1952 they moved to Ione,
OR. Mary and David were
residents of Heppner from
1961 to 1977 before they
settled in Gresham, OR.
Mary was an active
member of both the Hep-
pner Methodist Church and
the Rockwood Methodist
Church in Gresham.
She is survived by
her children, Bill (Kathy)
of Hermiston, OR, Deb-
bie (Scott) Hayes of Mil-
waukie, OR, Dave (Teri)
McLeod of Powell Butte,
OR; 12 grandchildren; 28
great-grandchildren; two
great-great-grandchildren;
and many nieces and neph-
ews.
Mary was preceded
in death by her husband,
David McLeod; parents,
Lester and Katie Farrar;
sisters, Lavone Boxrz and
Gwen Ramsey; daughter,
Fran; and granddaughter,
Alissa.
Donations may be
made in Mary’s name to:
SnoCap Community Char-
ities, 17788 SE Pine Street,
Portland, OR 97233.
Rosemary Rita
Roberts
Rosemary Rita Roberts
Rosemary Rita Rob-
erts, 83, of Kailua-Kona, HI
died Jan. 27, 2025, at home
in Keauhou. Services will
be held at a later date.
Born in Turlock, CA,
she was a secretary at Cas-
cade Natural Gas and a
member of the Oregon
Eagles Club.
She is survived by her
son, Larry Cox of Santa
Rosa, CA; daughter, Rob-
in (Rob) Elkins of Kai-
lua-Kona, HI; stepchildren,
Terry (Randy) Roberts of
Hermiston, OR and Dawn
Roberts of Astoria, OR; sis-
ters, Roberta (David) Jones
of Irrigon, OR., Christine
Dinsmore of McAdoo, PA
and Doreen Raffety of Peta-
luma, CA; sister-in-law, Lo-
ria Rolander of Santa Rosa,
CA; 11 grandchildren; 15
great-grandchildren; and
two great-great-grandchil-
dren.
Arrangements are in
care of Dodo Mortuary,
Inc., Kona branch.
YOUR AD
COULD
BE
HERE!
Call
541-676-
Mary Katherine McLeod
Mary Katherine Mc-
Leod died on Feb. 15, 2025,
in Portland, OR at the age
of 97. A celebration of life
service will be held later,
and date and time will be
announced.
She was born July 8,
1927, in Fairmont, NE to
Lester and Katie Farrar.
9228
Or Email
graphics@rapidserve.net
Heppner
Fire departments to meet
Wednesday
The Heppner Rural Fire
Protection District (HRF-
PD) will hold a public meet-
ing on Wednesday, Feb. 26,
at 7 p.m. at Heppner City
Hall.
The meeting will in-
clude the annual joint meet-
ing between the Heppner
City Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment and HRFPD.
The purpose of the
meeting is to receive infor-
mation, discuss topics per-
tinent to both entities and to
share issues and concerns
relating to the contractual
relationship between the
two parties.
The public is invited
to attend.
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Upcoming Events
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Lindsay Family 7:30pm, Dinner off the menu
served from 5pm to 8pm
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