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F. Lee Mellish
The funeral for F. Lee Mellish will be at 10 a.m. Friday in Siskiyou Chapel. The Rev. Kay Cushman of the First Presbyterian Church will officiate. Interment will follow at Siskiyou Memorial Park.
Mr. Mellish, 86, of Medford, died Tuesday (Oct. 6, 1998) at Rogue Valley Medical Center.
Memorial contributions may be made to Southern Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Center, 228 N. Holly St., Medford, OR 97501.
He was born Oct. 15, 1911, in Portland.
On June 25, 1939, in Vancouver, Wash., he married Olyve June Billson, who survives.
Mr. Mellish was raised in the Portland area and graduated from Grant High School. He received a bachelor of science degree from Oregon State University, and graduated from North Pacific Dental School in Portland with a DMD degree in 1939.
He opened his first dental practice in Reedsport. Following the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the Army in the 7th Infantry with the 3rd Infantry Division as a dentist and served as a major. After the war, he moved to Medford and opened his practice in 1946. He retired in 1980.
He was actively involved in the local Lions Club as an International Vice President, and was a recent recipient of the Melvin Jones Award.
He was the last surviving member of the group of Lions who founded what is now the Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation in 1958.
Since then, the foundation has helped tens of thousands of Oregonians with sight, hearing and diabetes complications. More than 7,000 people have received corneal transplants from the Foundation's eye bank.
The Oregon Lions will honor Mellish later this month when they name the newly reopened regional eye preservation laboratory in Medford after him.
He was also a member of the Southern Oregon Dental Association, the Medford Masonic Lodge No. 103, the Medford B.P.O.E., the local Hillah Shrine, the Rogue Valley Country Club, the Retired Officers Association, and served as an early commissioner on the Medford Water Commission.
He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Medford.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include a daughter, Sharon Will, Reedsport; a son, F. Lee Mellish Jr., Spokane, Wash.; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Friends may pay their respects from 3 to 7 p.m. today at Siskiyou Chapel.
Arrangements: Perl Funeral Services.
Florence Laveta Duarte
Florence Laveta Duarte, 79, of Copperas Cove, Texas, formerly of Medford, died Saturday (Oct. 3, 1998) in a Copperas Cove nursing center. The graveside service was held Wednesday, Oct. 7, in Smith Cemetery in Kempner, Texas. The Rev. Mike Alexander officiated.
She was born Florence Laveta Meadows on Sept. 21, 1919, in Medford, to Samuel and Mary Fields Meadows. She was raised and educated in Medford.
Mrs. Duarte worked for Bear Creek Orchards in Medford and was a cook for various cattle ranches in Nevada. She had lived in the Copperas Cove area since 1995.
She was a member of Grace United Methodist Church in Copperas Cove, Texas.
Survivors include a son, Vern Van Riper, Medford; three daughters, Vonetia Casalez, Winnemucca, Nev., Frieda Davis, Copperas Cove, and Laurel Evans, Corona de Tucson, Ariz.; a brother, Ora Meadows, Talent; two sisters, Ruth Schroeder, Medford, and Thelma Sowell, Crescent City; 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husbands: Frank Duarte in 1980, and Fred Van Riper in 1984.
Arrangements: Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home, Copperas Cove, Texas.
Eldo `Bill' Duft
Eldo "Bill" Harold Duft, 81, of Ashland, died Monday (Oct. 5, 1998) at Linda Vista Care Center. A private service is planned.
He was born May 30, 1917, in Highland, Ill. He moved to the Rogue Valley 24 years ago from Shelter Cove, Calif.
Mr. Duft was a residential contractor. He owned and operated Bill Duft's Construction in Ashland and California.
He was an avid fisherman and enjoyed woodworking, especially furniture-making.
Survivors include three sons, James, Ashland, Scot, Kirkland, Wash., and Craig, Calif.; a daughter, Dee Anne Keller, Hamilton, Mont.; a brother, Nelson, Highland, Ill.; a sister, Pearl Houseman, Highland, Ill.; and two grandchildren.
Arrangements: Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives.
Jack Rooklyn
The graveside service for Jack Rooklyn will be at 4:30 p.m. today in Mountain View Cemetery in Ashland. The Rev. Scott Dalgarno of the First Presbyterian Church, Ashland, will officiate.
Mr. Rooklyn, 75, of Ashland, died Monday (Oct. 5, 1998) at Ashland Community Hospital.
He was born Oct. 18, 1922, in San Francisco, Calif. He was raised in San Francisco and later moved to Los Angeles, where he graduated from Beverly Hills High School.
Mr. Rooklyn was a graduate of the University of California in Los Angeles, where he played football and participated in track and field.
He served in the United States Navy during World War II and received the Purple Heart and a bronze medal.
On Feb. 12, 1947, in Los Angeles, Calif., he married Ia Bogdan, who preceded him in death.
Mr. Rooklyn was an engineer, contractor, inventor and businessman. He owned Industrial Management Corporation in Los Angeles, which he operated for 30 years.
Survivors include two sons, Dale, Ashland, and Dennis, Los Angeles; and two grandchildren.
Arrangements: Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home, Ashland.
Phylip Louis Lausten
The graveside service for Phylip Louis Lausten will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the Eagle Point National Cemetery. The Rev. Dave Gomez, of the Jerusalem Center, will officiate.
Mr. Lausten, 67, of Central Point, died Sunday (Oct. 4, 1998) at his home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Medford Gospel Mission, 409 N. Front St., Medford, OR 97501.
Mr. Lausten was born Nov. 8, 1930, in Fargo, N.D. He moved to the Rogue Valley in 1934 and attended Central Point schools.
On Feb. 7, 1970, in Fargo, he married Nora Barnell, who survives.
He served in the U.S. Army from age 17 until he retired in 1968 as a staff sergeant.
Mr. Lausten worked for Cascade Wood Products for 15 years.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1833 in Medford.
Mr. Lausten was a sports enthusiast. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and gospel music.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include two stepsons, George Barnett and Edward Barnett, and a stepdaughter, C.M. Barnett, all Central Point; three brothers, Bill and Loren, both Central Point, and Bob, Springfield; two sisters, Geri Carney, Central Point, and Marlice, Red Bluff, Calif.; numerous grandchildren, step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two sisters.
Arrangements: Perl Funeral Services.
Lucille F. Prochniak
The funeral for Lucille F. Prochniak will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Hull & Hull Chapel, Grants Pass, with the Rev. Mary Ackerman officiating. Interment will follow in Hawthorne Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Prochniak, 74, of Grants Pass, died Sunday (Oct. 4, 1998) in Central Point.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 10 Crater Lake Ave., Suite 10, Medford, OR 97504.
She was born July 13, 1924, in Illinois.
On March 15, 1946, in Los Angeles, she married Herman A. Prochniak, who died in 1986.
Mrs. Prochniak lived in Grants Pass from 1961 to 1966. She returned to Grants Pass in 1983 from Danube, Minn.
She enjoyed walking, crafts and helping others.
Survivors include three daughters, Valerie Prochniak-Cornett, Central Point, Shirley Smith, Grants Pass, and Joan Perry, Maynard, Minn.; two sons, Doug, New Ulm, Minn., and Al, Bird Island, Minn.; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Friends may pay their respects from noon to 5 p.m. today at Hull & Hull Funeral Directors, Grants Pass.
John E. Keller
John E. Keller, 87, of Central Point, died Saturday (Oct. 3, 1998) at his home. A private service is planned.
He was born Jan. 16, 1911, in Sabula, Iowa, where he was raised. Mr. Keller graduated from what was then Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa.
On June 30, 1939, in Clinton, Iowa, he married Bonnie Miller, who survives.
Mr. Keller worked many years for Exxon in aviation fuel production on the island of Aruba. After retiring in 1962, he moved to San Francisco where he worked for Wells Fargo Bank.
He lived in Ashland from 1978 to 1984, moving to Central Point in 1991.
Mr. Keller was a Mason and enjoyed golfing.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include a son, Paul, Dublin, Calif.; and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son and two sisters.
Arrangements: Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home, Ashland.
Anna Margaret Despain
Anna Margaret Despain, 84, of Ashland, died Sept. 26, 1998, at Ashland Community Hospital. A memorial service was held in the Memory Gardens Chapel, Medford. Inurnment was in Memorial Gardens Memorial Park.
Memorial contributions may be made to Jackson County Library System, 413 W. Main St., Medford, OR 97501.
She was born Anna Eckel on Oct. 6, 1913, in Fair Oaks, Ariz., the youngest of 13 children.
On June 6, 1934, in Prescott, Ariz., she married Elza W. Despain, who survives. They moved to the Rogue Valley in 1945 from Prescott.
During World War II, Mrs. Despain worked at Valte Aircraft Factory where she was known as "Annie the Riveter."
Later she worked at Miller's Egg Ranch in Medford.
She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Eagle Point Ward.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, include a son, Marwin R., Central Point; a daughter, Roberta G. Josephson Henagin, White City; 10 grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren. A son, Noal W., died in 1975.
Arrangements: Memory Gardens Mortuary, Medford.
