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Ivan LeRoy DeSpain
Ivan LeRoy DeSpain, 66, of Gold Hill, died Sunday (Feb. 1, 1998) at Rogue Valley Medical Center. A private family service was held.
He was born Feb. 16, 1931, in Wilsey, Kan.
On Jan. 11, 1985, in Kalispell, Mont., he married Shirley Lynn, who survives. They moved to the Rogue Valley in 1989 from Montana.
Mr. DeSpain was a truck driver.
He enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include a son, Robert, Ely, Nev.; a daughter, Pam DeSpain, Portland; two stepdaughters, Diane Schock, Gold Hill, and Sharie DeHart, Seattle; a stepson, Timothy Davis, Kalispell; five brothers, Eugene, Fort Worth, Texas; Lyle, Chicago; Phillip and Luther, both Savanna, Ill., and Dick, Edwall, Wash.; a sister, Fayette Gilmore, Mt. Carroll, Ill.; and three grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother and four sisters.
Arrangements: Abbey Funeral, Medford.
`Gene' Mitchell
The graveside service for Eugene "Gene" L. Mitchell will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Eagle Point National Cemetery. Pastor Mitch Banks will officiate.
Mr. Mitchell, 49, of White City, died Sunday (Feb. 1, 1998) at his home.
He was born Dec. 5, 1948, in Star City, Ark., and moved to the Rogue Valley as a baby in 1949. He attended McLoughlin Junior High School and Happy Camp High School in California.
Mr. Mitchell served in the U.S. Army.
On Feb. 21, 1982, in Sams Valley, he married Ruby Arlene Smith, who survives.
Mr. Mitchell was a truck driver for Bettendorf Trucking and part-time for Forrest Industries, both of White City.
He enjoyed camping, hunting, fishing, visiting the ocean and water skiing with his sons.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include two sons, Todd and Joe McDougall, both White City; his mother and stepfather, Bertha and Henry Waelty, White City; two brothers, Raymond, Eagle Point, and Bud, Selma; four sisters, Beverly Stivers and Patsy Quintero, both White City, Maria Barriga, Medford, and Brenda Mitchell, Arkansas; and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two sisters and a brother.
Arrangements: Abbey Funeral, Medford.
D. Aileen Gardner
The funeral for D. Aileen Gardner will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Hillcrest Chapel in Medford. Minister Dorland Woods will officiate. Interment will follow in Hillcrest Memorial Park.
Mrs. Gardner, 76, formerly of Medford and Prospect, died Sunday (Feb. 1, 1998) in Fallon, Nev.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Lions Sight and Hearing Center, 228 N. Holly, Medford, OR 97501.
She was born D. Aileen Bishop on Nov. 6, 1921, in New Plymouth, Idaho.
In August of 1942, in Boise, Idaho, she married Arthur Gardner, who survives. They lived in Medford and Prospect for several years, moving to Fallon in July of 1997.
Mrs. Gardner was a computer analyst in the civil service. In 1992 she was voted volunteer of the year for the Department of Human Resources in the State of Oregon.
She was a member of First Christian Church in Prospect, and the Lioness clubs in Medford and Prospect.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, include a daughter, Dena Horton, Atlanta, Ga.; two sons, Randy Rogers-Gardner, Tucson, Ariz., and John Arthur Gardner, Germany; a brother, Howard Bishop Jr., Prospect; three sisters, Annie Merritt, New Meadows, Idaho, Lorraine Diers, Walla Walla, Wash., and Loeta McClung, Spokane, Wash.; and two grandchildren.
Arrangements: Conger-Morris Funeral Directors, Medford.
Harry Arnold
Harry Arnold, longtime Rogue Valley movie theater owner and concert promoter, died Saturday (Jan. 31, 1998) at Rogue Valley Medical Center. He was 70.
The funeral will be at noon Wednesday at Ashland Christian Fellowship. Pastor Andy Green will officiate. Entombment will follow at the Chapel of Reflections Mausoleum in Scenic Hills Memorial Park, Ashland.
He was best known as owner and operator of the Varsity Theater in Ashland from 1961 to 1985.
During that time he pioneered the showing of foreign and art films, movies that otherwise might not have been seen in the Rogue Valley. In the early years of his tenure at the Varsity he presented stage shows by the Southern Oregon Light Opera Company as well as magician Harry Anderson, who went on to fame on TV's "Night Court" and "Dave's World."
Mr. Arnold also promoted numerous local concerts by rock and country artists, among them Merle Haggard, Fog Hat and Toto.
He started and operated nearly 20 businesses in the Rogue Valley and Northern California, including the Manhattan Rose nightclub in Medford (now Ground Zero) and Fat City, a club for teens later known as Remix.
He also had a nightclub in Dunsmuir, Calif., called The Little Black Egg, which gave early exposure to some of the musicians who went on to form the band Neighb'rhood Childr'n.
He was remembered for the Cadillac Eldorado he drove around Ashland bearing the license plate "SHOBIZ." And in a 1985 column coinciding with the sale of the Varsity, the Mail Tribune's Al Reiss referred to him as "Ashland's Mr. Shobiz."
After he sold the Varsity, he spent several years out of the area, but returned in the early 1990s. From 1993 to the time of his death he worked for Real Estaters Better Homes and Gardens of Medford.
Mr. Arnold was born Nov. 18, 1927 in San Fernando, Calif.
He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1948 to 1950.
On April 4, 1952, in Reno, Nev., he married Evelyn Abel, who survives. They moved to the Rogue Valley in the early 1960s.
Mr. Arnold attended the Ashland Christian Fellowship.
He enjoyed movies, fine dining, cherrywood and a good joke.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include two daughters, Holly Mason, Trail, and Robin Daw, McKinleyville, Calif.; three brothers; five sisters; and 10 grandchildren.
Friends may pay their respects from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Simonsen Funeral Home, Ashland.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Lung Association, 9320 S.W. Barbur Blvd., Suite 140, Portland, OR 97219-5481.
John `Tony' Morrisey
The funeral for John Phillip "Tony" Morrisey will be at 2 p.m. today at Northcoast Family Fellowship in Seaside. Private interment will be in Siskiyou Memorial Park in Medford.
Mr. Morrisey, 83, formerly of Medford, died Thursday (Jan. 29, 1998) in Gearhart.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Lower Columbia Hospice, c/o Columbia Memorial Hospital, 2111 Exchange, Astoria, OR 97103.
He was born Aug. 5, 1914, in Yakima, Wash., where he was raised on the family farm. He graduated from Grandview High School. In Grandview, he was an Eagle Scout.
Mr. Morrisey moved to Medford in 1933, where he became a compositor, typesetter and linotype operator in his uncle's print shop. The print shop was sold and converted to a paper box factory, which Mr. Morrisey managed. He retired in 1979 and moved to Gearhart.
In Medford, he married Patricia Turnquist, who preceded him in death after 53 years of marriage. They traveled frequently to Seattle and Camano Island, Wash., to visit family.
Mr. Morrisey and his eldest son, Mike, formed a partnership in 1979 to form Seaside Stop & Go. He was the owner/operator of the shop, later selling it to his younger son, Jim, who continues to operate it.
Survivors include two sons, Mike, Clatskanie, and Jim, Gearhart; a brother, Charlie, Camano Island; two sisters, Pat Harbert, Bellevue, Wash., and Mary Farrell, Kent, Wash.; and eight grandchildren.
Arrangements: Hughes-Ransom Mortuary & Crematory, Seaside, Ore.
Sharen Parslow Strosser
The memorial service for Sharen Parslow Strosser will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Rogue Valley Fellowship in Medford. Pastor Dave Booye will officiate.
Mrs. Strosser, of Medford, died Wednesday (Jan. 28, 1998) in Stanford, Calif.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Rogue Valley Medical Center Foundation, Sharen Parslow Strosser Lactation Symposium, 2825 E. Barnett Road, Medford, OR 97504.
She was born in Altadena, Calif., and raised in Baldwin Park, Calif. She was a graduate of Sierra Vista High School.
On Sept. 4, 1971, in West Covina, Calif., she married Bob Strosser, who survives. They moved to the Rogue Valley in 1991 from Pasadena, Calif.
Mrs. Strosser earned her bachelor's degree in nursing from Azusa Pacific University in 1984. She later graduated from the Lactation Consultant Program at UCLA.
She was a board-certified lactation consultant and founding member of the Southern Oregon Lactation Association. She was a nurse manager at the Family Birth Center of Rogue Valley Medical Center.
Mrs. Strosser was actively involved in providing new mothers education on newborn care.
She attended Rogue Valley Fellowship.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, include two sons, Jeff and Jon, both Medford; her mother, Gwen Parslow Bliss, Hagerman, Idaho; a brother, Tom Parslow, Salem; and a sister, Susan Parslow Monahan, Hagerman. She was preceded in death by her father, Thomas Parslow Sr., in 1975.
Arrangements: Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives, Medford.
Paul Robert Hendrickson
Paul Robert Hendrickson, 80, of Medford, died Friday (Jan. 30, 1998) at his home. No service is planned.
He was born June 20, 1917, in Hermein, Tenn., and moved to the Rogue Valley as a child 72 years ago.
Mr. Hendrickson was a corporal in the U.S. Army from September of 1940 to November of 1945.
He enjoyed helping people.
Survivors include a daughter, Paulette Hendrickson-Limberg, Anchorage, Alaska; a son, David P., Snohomish, Wash.; three brothers, Ray and Cornelious, both Medford, and Billy Peck, Sisters; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Clifford.
Arrangements: Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives Alder Creek, Medford.
Dolores `Dee' Ackerman
The memorial service for Dolores "Dee" Marguerite Ackerman will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Jones and Moles Funeral Home in Bellingham, Wash.
Mrs. Ackerman, 75, formerly of the Rogue Valley, died Saturday (Jan. 31, 1998) in Bellingham.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Friends of the Bellingham Public Library, P.O. Box 1197, Bellingham, WA 98227.
She was born Dolores Marguerite Dunn on Oct. 1, 1922, in Bellingham.
On Jan. 26, 1946, in Marysville, Wash., she married Dale Stanley Ackerman, who survives. They moved to Medford in 1950, and later lived in Central Point and Eagle Point, before moving to Everett, Wash. in 1967.
Mrs. Ackerman was a bookkeeper, office manager and administrator at various companies in Oregon and Washington.
She was past president of the Whatcom Genealogical Society, and served on many of their committees. She was instrumental in researching and publishing Whatcom County cemetery records, several Washington Territorial censuses, and four surname indexes.
Mrs. Ackerman was editor of the society's journal, "The Bulletin," for six years, and represented the Whatcom Genealogical Society at conferences throughout Washington and British Columbia.
She was an honorary life member of the Washington State Genealogical Society, where she designed and chaired the Washington State Pioneers Project.
Mrs. Ackerman was past president of the PTA in Eagle Point and at Batton School in Portland. She was a past member of the Eastern Star in Medford and Guardian of Jobs Daughters in Shady Cove.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, include two sons, James Victor, Cortland, Ohio, and Dale Stanley Jr., Seattle, Wash.; two daughters, Marcia Marlane Cook and Lola Marguerite Ackerman, both Bellingham; a sister, Gaynell Krambeal, Eagle Point; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Arrangements: Jones and Moles Funeral Home, Bellingham, Wash.
