RECORDS/COMMUNITY
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021
OBITUARIES
Delmer O. Crawford
Minerva Leticia Bethel
Myrla Elaine Cox
April 29, 1924 — Oct. 4, 2021
Jan. 25, 1942 — Oct. 3, 2021
Feb. 2, 1939 — Oct. 3, 2021
Hermiston
Hermiston
Irrigon
Delmer O. Crawford of Hermis- slie, Kennewick, Jeffrey (Jean-
ton, was born April 29, 1924, out- Pierre) Correa, Brooklyn, New
side of Ione, on the Oregon Trail to York, Jerid (Tonisha) Falconer,
parents, Wate and Mabel (Phillips) Vancouver, Washington, and Jana
Crawford. He died Oct.
(Mike) Topf, Pasco; 17
4, 2021, in Hermiston
great-grandchildren and
three great-great-grand-
at the age of 97 years.
children.
Delmer was raised
Delmer was pre-
and attended school
ceded in death by his
in Ione before joining
the United States Navy.
wife of 71 years, Fran-
He served during WWII
cine Crawford; a daugh-
until his honorable dis-
ter, Cyndee Falconer;
charge and returned
his parents; and seven
home and married Fran-
siblings, Vernon, Sam,
Crawford
cine Ely April 22, 1949.
Rollo, Margaret, Melba,
They owned the
Harlan and Ruth.
Shell Oil Bulk Plant in
We would like to
give thanks to the Good
Hermiston and Pendle-
Shepherd Medical Cen-
ton along with several
ter staff for the kindness
Shell service stations,
following their retirement from and compassion shown not only to
the oil business, Delmer worked Delmer but to our family.
security at various agriculture plants
In lieu of fl owers, contributions
in the area for several years. He may be made to Vange John Memo-
enjoyed traveling, farming and time rial Hospice Education Fund c/o
spent with his family. Delmer was Burns Mortuary of Hermiston, P.O.
an active member of the Elks Lodge Box 289, Hermiston, OR 97838
#1845, holding several offi ces, the
A celebration of life service will
Eagles Lodge and the Ione Ameri- be held Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at
can Legion Post.
1 p.m. at Burns Mortuary Chapel,
He is survived by his daugh- Hermiston. A private burial will
ters, Marlene Bush, Hermiston, be held at the Hermiston Ceme-
and Anita Kongslie, Kennewick; tery, Hermiston.
nine grandchildren, Jonathan Bush,
Please share memories of
Kennewick, Justin (Susan) Bush, Delmer with his family at burns-
Elko, Nevada, Jocelle (Bert) Quinn mortuaryhermiston.com.
and Jenee Bush, Hermiston, Jacki
Arrangements are with Burns
(Darral) Moore and Loni Kong- Mortuary of Hermiston.
Minerva
Leticia Little and husband,
Bethel of Hermiston, Bob, John Guel and
was born Jan. 25, 1942, wife, Beatrice, Jason
in Monterey, Nuevo Bethel and wife, Clau-
Leon, Mex-
dia, Thomas
ico, to par-
B e t h e l
ents, Tomas
and
Rich-
G a r c i a
ard “Ricky”
Gomez and
Bethel; nine
Irene Mata
grandchil-
Gomez. She
dren;
12
died
Oct.
great-grand-
3, 2021, in
children and
Hermiston, at
numerous
the age of 79
nieces and
Bethel
years.
nephews.
Minerva
Minerva
was raised in Texas and was preceded in death
Grandview, Washing- by her parents and a
ton, graduating from daughter,
Elizabeth
Big Bend Commu- “Betsy” Miles.
nity College in Moses
A graveside ser-
Lake, Washington, as a vice will be held Fri-
licensed practical nurse. day, Oct. 15, 2021, at
She worked at the Oth- 11 a.m. at the Hermis-
ello Hospital, Good ton Cemetery.
Shepherd and Regency
Those who wish
in Hermiston. Minerva may make contribu-
was united in marriage tions in Minerva’s
to Lynn Bethel Aug. 5, memory to Fuzz Ball or
1977, in Hermiston.
St Jude’s Hospital for
She enjoyed garden- Children.
ing, animals, sewing,
Please share mem-
music and cherished ories of Minerva with
family gatherings.
her family at burnsmor-
She is survived by tuaryhermiston.com.
her husband of 44 years,
Arrangements are
Lynn Bethel; chil- with Burns Mortuary
dren, Leticia “Letty” of Hermiston.
Myrla Elaine Cox of Irri-
gon was born Feb. 2, 1939,
in Selma, California, the
daughter of Chester and
Mardette (Wil-
liams) Klein-
hammer. She
passed away
in Richland,
Washington,
Sunday, Oct. 3,
2021, at the age
of 82.
Myrla grew
up in Fresno
Cox
County, Cali-
fornia, attend-
ing school in
Fowler, Cal-
ifornia. She
graduated from
Fowler High School in the
late 1950s. She then joined
the Air Force where she
served for a short time.
After her honorable dis-
charge, she returned to
Fresno County where she
resided for several years.
She moved to western
Washington for a couple
of years before settling in
Eastern Oregon in 1968.
She has been a resident of
the Irrigon community for
many years.
Myrla loved raising
her Irish wolfhounds. She
enjoyed horses, crocheting
and working on ancestry.
Myrla married Arlie
B. Tompkins in the late
1950s and from this union
four children
were born, Arlie,
Adam, Allen and
Dawn. The couple
later divorced. She
married John C.
Cox in 1965. The
couple divorced
many years later.
She is survived
by three sons,
Arlie and wife,
Diana Tompkins,
Adam and wife,
Jana Tompkins,
Allen Tompkins;
daughter, Dawn
and husband, Mike Sam-
son; eight grandchildren,
several great-grandchil-
dren; and brother, Keith
Kleinhammer.
She was preceded
in death by her parents
and a brother, Danny
Kleinhammer.
A celebration of life will
be announced at a later
time. Arrangements are
with Burns Mortuary of
Hermiston.
To leave an online con-
dolence for the family
please go to www.burns-
mortuaryhermiston.com.
Hermiston chamber of commerce unveils its new digs
By TAMMY MALGESINI
Hermiston Herald
Even while wearing masks Mon-
day morning, Oct. 11, you could see
the excitement on the faces of Val
Hoxie, the Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce executive assistant, and
Kris Bennett, board of directors chair.
Anticipating an upcoming open
house, the two women were putting
fi nishing touches on the chamber’s
new offi ce space. Everyone is invited
to drop in Friday, Oct. 15, between
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 630 S. Highway 395,
Hermiston.
Hoxie, who has been with the
chamber since July 30, moved to
Hermiston in October 2020. After
Kristina Olivas, the chamber’s
chief executive offi cer since March,
recently returned to her previous
employer, Hoxie has been busy mov-
ing forward with chamber programs
and planning for the transition to the
newly remodeled space at the for-
mer Pioneer Title building. And she
couldn’t be more excited.
“This community is so welcom-
ing,” Hoxie said. “I’ve truly fallen
in love with it.”
Following Olivas’ departure, the
chamber board immediately launched
a search for her replacement. Bennett
said the board will make an announce-
ment and introduce its new executive
at 4:30 p.m. during the open house.
For nearly two decades, the cham-
ber had been housed in the Hermis-
ton Community Center. However, in
January 2018, the city of Hermiston
ended its contract with the chamber
and moved its parks and recreation
program into the center.
Several months after moving its
offi ce to the Cornerstone Plaza, the
chamber received a $1 million allo-
cation from the state to build a new
workforce development center. After
purchasing property on South High-
way 395 across from New Hope Com-
munity Church and drafting plans for
the project, a fundraising drive has
been delayed because of the global
pandemic.
Although those plans are on hold,
the chamber still wanted to move for-
ward with providing workforce devel-
opment and have meeting space avail-
able for its membership. The former
Pioneer Title building off ers that —
plus, Hoxie and Bennett said the loca-
tion’s visibility is very appealing.
“In just the few weeks that we’ve
been here, we have a lot more walk-in
traffi c,” Hoxie said. “And the phone
is ringing off the hook.”
Entering the building, people are
immediately greeted with a large
mural-type canvas created by Lisa
Peppard of Artful Virgo. The color-
ful piece features various logos and
designs that depict all things Herm-
iston and beyond.
Bennett, who owns KRISanthe-
mums, is especially excited about the
opportunity to help other local busi-
nesses thrive — whether it’s through
off ering resources and training or
space and networking.
“We give to help kids experience
the outdoors, music and art
they would otherwise miss in
rural communities.”
— R U BY & C EC I L
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