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Robert L. Odell
Robert L. Odell, 66, of Medford, died Friday (July 2, 1999) at Hearthstone. No services are planned.
Born June 18, 1933 in Yonkers, New York, he moved to the Rogue Valley in 1971 from Grand Forks, N.D., after retiring from the military. He served in the Navy and the Air Force.
He served as a Jackson County sheriff's deputy from 1972 through 1979.
He married the former Juanita Paul in Medford on March 2, 1979.
He enjoyed golf, traveling and reading.
In addition to his spouse, survivors include daughter Denise Halstead of Maple Valley, Wash.; son Robert L. Odell Jr. of Medford; sister Dorothy Wray of Yonkers; and three grandchildren.
Arrangements: Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives.
Donald C. Stoner
Donald C. Stoner, 68, of Applegate, died Wednesday (June 30, 1999) at his home. No services will be held.
He was born June 19, 1931 in Ontario, Calif., and graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1949. He married Marla Matheny on Jan. 23, 1950 in Jacksonville.
Mr. Stoner worked as a steamfitter/welder for 35 years. He was first a member of Local Union No. 250 in Los Angeles, followed by Local Union No. 290 in Portland.
During the 1960s, he worked for five years with his father, the late Lyle Stoner, at the Stoner & Sons Poultry Ranch in the Applegate Valley. In 1988, he opened a small engine repair shop in Applegate.
He enjoyed fishing, golfing, pitching horseshoes and visiting friends.
In addition to his wife, survivors include three sons, Daniel C., Wonder, Patrick D., Applegate, and Brian E., Veneta; two brothers, Robert Stoner, South Carolina, and Wayne Stoner; his mother, Twila Stoner, Medford; two grandaughters and one step-grandson.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Arrangements: Conger-Morris Funeral Directors, Medford.
James R. Closson
James Roger Closson, 51, of Medford, died Wednesday (June 30, 1999) at Providence Medford Medical Center. A private family service is planned.
He was born Dec. 7, 1947 in Agana, Guam and married Patricia O'Kelley on Aug. 15, 1969 in Carson City, Nev.
Mr. Closson was employed as a respiratory therapist in Elk City Oak Hospital in California. He served in the Army during the Vietnam War.
He enjoyed building miniature dollhouses.
He moved to the Rogue Valley in 1978 from Klamath Falls where he had lived for two years after moving from California.
In addition to his wife, survivors include a daughter, Tara Kelley Raines, Medford; two sons, James Closson Jr., Star, Idaho and Thomas Closson, Ashland; his mother, Ruth Closson, Livermore, Calif.; a brother, Don Closson, Portland; a sister, Marie Herrick, Port Charlotte, Fla.; and nine grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Bruce Wayne Closson and Randy Lee Closson.
Arrangements: Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives.
Edwin 'Ed' Jones, 81, dies
It was a military "secret mission" that brought Edwin "Ed" Jones to Oregon during World War II. His job was to fly the region's national forests, watching for Japanese balloon bombss and forest fires.
Jones, 81, a Medford resident since 1955, died Thursday (July 1, 1999) at his home.
The memorial service will be at 2 p.m. July 11 at First Presbyterian Church with the Revs. Joyce DeGraaff and John Braund officiating.
The Oregon mission was the second of two "secret" missions Jones volunteered for during the war. The first involved flying VIPs around North Africa.
Jones was born Jan. 9, 1918, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
As a youth fascinated with flying, he earned money for flying school driving tourists up Pike's Peak.
While with the 12th Air Force at Casablanca he got to know the Mediterranean area well, particularly the British ports. It put him in good standing with Eisenhower's staff as he was tapped to fly out to buy alcohol, Jones said in a 1994 interview.
One of his more memorable flights was in December 1943 when he flew Lt. Gen. Walter Bedell "Beedle" Smith to Palermo to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Gen. Eisenhower, who had just been selected supreme commander for Overload, the invasion of Europe.
Smith became Eisenhower's chief of staff.
On Nov. 11, 1945, in Baker City, he married Florence Grubb, who died Nov. 26, 1997.
In 1948, while a second lieutenant in the Oregon National Guard, Jones was among the Guardsmen activated to evacuate Vanport, the suburb of Portland built to house wartime workers, when it was destroyed in a flood.
Jones managed Town & Country Estates south of Medford before buying land in the Applegate. After being flooded out in 1974, he joined Ramsey Realty in Ruch as a salesman. They moved to Medford in 1990.
Jones served on the Jackson County Education Service District board in the 1970s.
A member of First Presbyterian Church, he was an ordained deacon and elder. A lifetime volunteer, Jones built wheelchair ramps for shut-ins with Jacksonville Kiwanis, served in the Rogue Valley Medical Center Auxiliary and at the now defunct Pacific Northwest Museum
of Natural History in Ashland. A life member of the Elks Lodge, Jones earlier was in Boy Scout leadership. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, and horseback riding.
Survivors include two sons, Gregory Alva, Portland, and John Carl, Beaverton; two brothers, Richard, Tipp City, Ohio, and Glenn, Corvallis; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. One brother, Bob, preceded him in death.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Rogue Valley Medical Center Foundation, Hospice Education Fund, 2825 E. Barnett Road, Medford, OR 97504.
Arrangements: Abbey Funeral.
Robert Charles Merz
Robert Charles Merz, 77, of Milwaukie, formerly of Medford, died June 18, 1999, at Providence Milwaukie Hospital. The memorial service was held on June 20 at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Milwaukie. Inurnment will be in Willamette National Cemetery.
He was born Jan. 20, 1922, in Spokane, Wash. He moved to Medford in 1957, and lived here until 1980.
Mr. Merz worked in various plywood mills around the Rogue Valley. He also worked for the City of Medford Streets Department.
In Portland, he was involved with the N.W. Pilot Project, and the Native American Rehabilitation Association, helping recovering alcoholics and homeless people, until his retirement.
Mr. Merz was a volunteer companion for senior citizens at Milwaukie Center.
He served in the U.S. Army.
Survivors include three daughters, Camelle Giese, Central Point, Lynda Despain, Gold Hill, and Teresa Ross, San Jose; a sister, Erma Huff, Brentwood, Calif.; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and his former wife, Kathryn Mesloh, Central Point. He was preceded in death by two sisters and three brothers.
Arrangements: Wilhelm Funeral Home, Portland.
Marvin Joseph Jensen
The graveside service for Marvin Joseph Jensen will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Woodville Cemetery in Rogue River. Pastor Mike Fieguth will officiate. The memorial service will be at 1 p.m. in Evans Valley Bible Church in Rogue River.
Mr. Jensen, 73, of Rogue River, died Tuesday (June 29, 1999) at his home.
Memorial contributions may be made to Evans Valley Bible Church, 7924 E. Evans Creek Road, Rogue River, OR 97537.
He was born Dec. 16, 1925, in Selma, Calif.
On June 29, 1958, at Salt Creek Guard Station near Wimer, he married Annie Mabel Rigel, who survives.
Mr. Jensen worked in the logging industry from 1959 until his retirement in 1990.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946.
Mr. Jensen attended Evans Valley Bible Church in Wimer.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, huckleberry picking and tinkering with small engines.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include three daughters, Shirley O'Gara and Susan Jensen, both Wimer, and Julie Andrews, Merlin; and nine grandchildren. A daughter, Martha, died in 1959.
Arrangements: Hull & Hull Funeral Directors, Grants Pass.
Mary Lou Hicks
The graveside service for Mary Lou Hicks will be at 10 a.m. Monday in Jacksonville Cemetery. Everett Cade will officiate.
Mrs. Hicks, 63, of Central Point, died Wednesday (June 30, 1999) at her home.
She was born Mary Lou Boettcher on March 11, 1936, in Belvedere, Ill.
On Nov. 19, 1959, in Virginia City, Nev., she married C.E. "Sonny" Hicks, who survives. She moved to the Rogue Valley 37 years ago.
Mrs. Hicks was a homemaker.
She was a member of the degree of Pocahontas, and enjoyed antiques and reading.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, include a daughter, Sharon A. Skaggs, Boulder Creek, Calif.; a son, Michael A. McKay, Hillsboro; three stepsons, Steve and Patrick A. Hicks, both Las Vegas, and Anthony D. Hicks, Charlotte, N.C.; two brothers, Allan C. Boettcher, Medford, and Fred F. Boettcher, Rogue River; and seven grandchildren.
Friends may pay their respects from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives, 550 Business Park Drive, Medford.
