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Della Lavon Bayless
Della Lavon Bayless, a longtime resident of Hood River, Ore., passed away July 5, 2008, at Parkhurst House of Hood River.
Services to honor Lavon's life are planned for 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12, at Idlewilde cemetery. The Reverend Rinya Frisbie, of Asbury United Methodist Church, will officiate.
Lavon was born on April 22, 1928, in Deweese, Neb., to Arthur Frederick and Alice Louisa (Johnson) Denney. Living in Deweese during her early years, Lavon attended school with her brother, Arthur, in the red brick schoolhouse which still stands as a landmark in Deweese.
Still at an early age, Lavon moved with her family to Emmett, Idaho. Then, after several years, the Denney family relocated to Creswell, Ore. On Nov. 6, 1948, Lavon and William 'Bill' Bayless were married
in Cottage Grove, Ore., and to this union were born two children; Della Lucille Bayless and William (Bill) Bayless Jr.
With Bill working as an engineer in heavy construction, the family moved to Mill City, Ore., The Dalles, Ore., and Quincy, Wash. The family moved back to the Hood River Valley in 1963, where Lavon was an active wife, mother and grandmother. She had many hobbies and activities but had no greater joy than being involved with her family.
Lavon is survived by her husband of 60 years, William Bayless, of Hood River; one daughter, Della Lucille Stagner, and very loved son-in-law, Jack, of Longview, Wash., and her son, William Henry Bayless Jr., and very-loved daughter-in-law, Nora, of Selah, Wash.
The joy of Lavon's life were her grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Mike Stagner and his wife, April, of Wenatchee, Wash., and their children, Allison, Kristen, and Carly; Kurt Stagner and his wife, Jessica, and their precious son, Koen, of Auburn, Wash.; and Marla Johanesen and her husband, Steve, of Bellingham, Wash., and their children, Hailey and Sienna. Also loved by Lavon were grandchildren Franklin Bayless, wife Ofelia, and their daughter, Andrea (Andi), of San Diego, Calif., as well as another great-granddaughter who is expected to come into this world on Lavon and Bill's wedding anniversary of Nov. 6, 2008; William Bayless Jr., of Ft. Meade, Md., Karen Bayless, of Hawaii, and Heather and T.J. Fletcher, of Ellensburg, Wash.
Lavon survived cancer two times in her life and shared her experiences with those who feared this dreaded disease. She was a bastion of strength to those who knew her and an inspiration to all.
Her courage has inspired her children and grandchildren and will be a foundation for her great-grandchildren for generations to come.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Arthur Denney Jr., and two sisters, Betty Rowland and Lucille Goins.
Lavon is survived by her beloved sister, Alice Rhodes, brother, Robert Denney, and sister, Carol Booble. Also loved by Lavon were Maria Richmond and children, of Tacoma, Wash., as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Lavon and Bill were active as honorary members of the United States Navy Armed Guard and enjoyed many vacations in the company of those who served in World War II and the U.S. military.
The family suggests that contributions in Lavon's memory may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital, in care of Anderson's Tribute Center.
Lavon will be greatly missed and eternally loved by all who knew her.
Arrangements are under the direction of Anderson's Tribute Center (Funerals, Receptions, Cremations), 1401 Belmont Ave., , Hood River, OR 97031.
Frankie Hackman
Frankie Lynn Hackman passed away unexpectedly on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, 2008, with her daughter by her side at a Pinetop, Ariz., hospital. Her death was very untimely, the result of a heart attack, and she was taken away much too early - she was only 38.
Frankie was born March 9, 1970, in Phoenix, Ariz. She grew up in Arizona and moved to the Columbia Gorge area when she was 16 living in both Hood River and White Salmon over the years. Almost a year and a half ago she moved to Arizona where she met and was engaged to marry Vern Lewis.
Frankie worked for the Underwood Fruit Company for almost 10 years and more recently for the Elks Lodge, the Heights Shell station and Annz Panz. She was excited and was working at a local country club and golf course in Pinetop, Ariz.
She had several hobbies and activities but above all she loved spending time with her daughter and watching her softball games.
Frankie is survived and will be dearly missed by her two daughters, Amber Kitchen, of Hood River, Ore., and Mariaya Kitchen, of Waikukus, Wash.; her grandma, Reeny Hackman, of Hood River; extended family in Arizona and many, many friends.
There are no services planned; her memorial services were conducted in Arizona.
Rocky Alan Hobbs
Rocky Alan Hobbs, 51, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, Aug. 25, 2008, at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital.
A memorial service was held Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Hood River Church of the Nazarene, 22nd Street and Belmont Ave. Pastor Jim Beals and Pastor Stace Andrews officiated.
Rocky was born Aug. 15, 1957, at Greeley, Colo., to Arthur Jay and Violet (Cecil) Hobbs. He lived in Colorado for a short time and then moved west with his family in 1965. His father worked along the Columbia River on the dams.
They lived in Cascade Locks before settling in the Hood River Valley. Rocky attended Wy'east Middle School and Hood River Valley High School. He was very athletic in school and enjoyed basketball and baseball.
On Dec. 19, 1987, Rocky married
Heather Enid Heft (Cook) and to this union were blessed four children: Teresa, Troy, Jake and Amy. The family lived in Hood River where the kids have grown up, attended local schools and enjoyed many outdoor activities together as a family. Rock enjoyed watching their sporting events and could be seen along the outfield fence watching Amy's softball games.
He loved the outdoors; the mountains, the rivers and anything that would enable him to get out. Rock enjoyed fishing and hunting; he enjoyed them more when he was accompanied with family and friends. Rock had many friends and was not only a great friend but also a devoted husband, father, son and brother.
Rocky had been working at Diamond Fruit for all of his adult life; he was a respected asset for their company and a friend to many at work. Rocky was active in AA and has celebrated his sobriety for 21 years; he was a sponsor and mentor to many.
Rocky was a standup guy who wasn't lukewarm about anything he did; he was a man who loved his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He was active in the Hood River Nazarene Church and has served in numerous capacities including teaching Sunday school, hosting bible study in their home and a prior mission to Russia in August of 2005.
He and his family had been planning a mission trip to Africa and set to leave on Sept. 8. This mission is a 'work and witness mission' to those of Mozambique. Heather and Jake plan to tribute Rocky and his memory with what he would want them to do, and plan to go on the mission.
Rocky is survived by his wife of 21 years, Heather Hobbs, of Hood River, Ore.; his four children: Teresa Blouin and her husband, Greg, of Parkdale, Ore., Troy Hobbs, of Vancouver, Wash., Jacob Hobbs, of Hood River, and Amy Hobbs, of Hood River; his mother, Violet 'Vi' Hobbs, of Hood River; siblings Buck Hobbs and his wife, Mary, of Hood River, and Sharon Hobbs, of Mosier, Ore.; and other extended family and many, many friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Jay, in April of 2008.
The family suggests that memorial contributions be made in Rocky's memory to the Work and Witness Mission in Mozambique, South Africa, and sent in care of Anderson's.
Arrangements are under the direction of Anderson's Tribute Center (Funerals, Receptions, Cremations), 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River, OR 97031; (541) 386-1000.
Roger Campbell
A memorial service for Roger Campbell will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, at Gardner Funeral Home in White Salmon.
Roger Owen Campbell, son of Fay Josephine (Marlett) and Glenn Edwards Campbell, was born Oct. 21, 1958, in Lake Chelan, Wash. He moved to White Salmon in 1960 then to Underwood, where he was raised, in 1963.
Though he had been in poor health since his 20s, Roger was a very strong person. He loved music and made his living as a professional musician, playing keyboard, drums and guitar.
Roger was a very mechanical person and also worked at various jobs driving truck, crushing rock, and as a mechanic. He enjoyed riding his Honda V45 motorcycle and hot rodding, which he called 'throttle therapy.'
Roger passed away in Underwood on Aug. 2, 2008, at the age of 49.
He will be missed by his son, John Frazier, of Oregon City; brothers and sisters Steve Campbell, of White Salmon, Cathy Asher, of Vancouver, David Campbell, of Vancouver, Wendy Schmid, of Trout Lake, Laurie Carr, of Hood River, and Beth Cummins, of St. Petersburg, Fla. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Shirley Lee Wilhite
April 4, 1929 - Aug. 2, 2008
A loving tribute by her son, Michael Wilhite
Shirley Lee Wilhite, of Hood River, died at age 79 of pulmonary hypertension. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Raymond A. Wilhite; sons Michael and Bruce, daughter Karen, three grandsons: Clint, Brian and Jeffrey; six granddaughters: Teresa, Richelle, Madeleine, Wendy, Stephanie and Laurel; and nine great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by daughters Wendy and Cynthia.
A funeral ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, at Valley Christian Church, 975 Indian Creek Road. Pastor Terry Abbott of the River of Life Assembly of God Church will officiate. A viewing is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Anderson's Tribute Center, 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River, on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Shirley was born in Hollywood, Calif., as Shirley Lee Shaw, to Gladys Raush and Carlos Shaw. The mother and child were later taken in by Gladys' parents in Denver, Colo., where Shirley attended East High School and worked as a retail clerk for Denver Dry Goods.
At age 16, Shirley met Raymond A. Wilhite, recently discharged from the U.S. Navy and player of tenor saxophone in a dance band. Following a brief courtship, Ray and Shirley married
on Nov. 30, 1946.
The couple moved to Boulder where Ray attended the University of Colorado. Their first child, Cynthia, was born in 1949. Ray graduated in 1950, and the young family moved to Las Cruces, N.M., where Ray worked at White Sands Proving Grounds and Shirley for Douglas Aircraft. Following the path of Ray's career, the family moved next to Phoenix, Ariz., where son Michael was born in 1951, then to San Mateo, Calif., where daughter Wendy was born in 1956.
In 1956, the family settled in La Habra, Calif., where they lived and prospered until 1975. They were active members of Temple Baptist Church, where both Shirley and Ray taught Sunday school. Their son, Bruce, was born in 1959.
Shirley was a devoted mother, supporting her children's interests in school, sports and music. She also pursued craft work and oil painting. Daughter Wendy was stricken with childhood leukemia and died at age 8 in 1964.
In later years Shirley applied the strength and knowledge gained from this painful ordeal to the work of helping others in their times of need. The couple's fifth and youngest child, Karen, was born in 1966.
In 1972, Ray and Shirley made their first visit to Hood River Valley. It was love at first sight. In 1975, the family moved into their present home on Thomsen Road and began operating a 50-acre apple and pear orchard.
Shirley took charge of the 1911 house and also helped on the orchard. She taught home economics at the Horizon Christian School. An upstairs room of the home became her art studio, and she produced many oil paintings, and handcrafted sewn creations under the name 'Countryside Charm by Shirley.'
Shirley made many friends in the Hood River Valley, at church and through other connections in the community. She loved to entertain, and often took charge of hospitality for church events. The home on Thomsen Road was a favorite meeting place for bible study, social events, and for family gatherings.
One such occasion was Ray and Shirley's gala 50th wedding anniversary celebration in November 1996. Shirley took a loving interest in the lives of her grandchildren, and each to this day remembers special times on the farm with grandparents.
As the years passed and grandchildren started families of their own, a new generation of Wilhites has come to know and love their great-grandparents.
In later years, Ray and Shirley enjoyed road trips throughout the western states. Among Shirley's favorite destinations were Calgary, Jackson Hole and Santa Fe. At home, Shirley loved the nature around the farm, such as the squirrels in the walnut tree outside her kitchen window. Other simple pleasures included the family dog, Annie; 'Days of our Lives' every day at 2 p.m., the Portland Trail Blazers, and shopping; her last trip was to IKEA, complete with walker and oxygen.
On Tuesday, July 29, 2008, a few days before her death, Shirley received visits from two newborn great-grandchildren. When there was nothing left to be done for her rare condition, she asked to be brought home to Hood River.
Shirley was lucid and cheerful to the end; Aug. 1 was a day of loving conversation and prayer with family, and she passed quietly on Aug. 2.
Shirley will be remembered as a devoted wife, mother, grand- and great-grandmother, a treasured friend, a great force for good in the community, and a loyal servant of God.
Katherine Couch
Katherine 'Hap' Couch was born to Robert and Myrtle Vaughan, of Hood River, Ore., on Oct. 31, 1909. She grew up on 13th Street in a home that her father built in 1906. She graduated from Hood River High School with the class of 1928. She was on the tumbling team, a precursor to gymnastics.
At the height of the Great Depression she moved to Portland to work at the Jantzen factory, sewing swimsuits. She met and married
Harold Bryant and they had two sons, Robert and William. After Harold's death in 1943, she worked at the Diamond Fruit cannery and in the office of Dr. W.T. Edmundson to support her family.
In 1948 she married
John Couch and settled into life on their Tucker Road pear orchard. Together they had two children, Martha and David. John and Hap were members of the 'One Hundred Club, ' a formal dance club held monthly at the Columbia Gorge Hotel in the late 1940s and '50s.
She served on the Hood River School Board in the 1950s and on the Hood River County Fair Board into the 1970s. She was a member of the Hood River Garden Club and the Riverside Church, and she played bridge monthly with the same group of women friends for more than 50 years.
Hap loved music, especially jazz from the 1920s and '30s, and played piano by ear. In retirement she and John traveled to the Southwest and into Mexico in their motor home and annually created wonderful flower and vegetable gardens, passing their love of growing things on to their children and grandchildren. The annual fall Cider 'squeezin's' was one of her favorite events with family and friends.
Her four sisters and two brothers preceded her in death. Her son, Bill, preceded her in death in 1980 and her husband, John, in 2004 after 56 years together.
Hap is survived by her son, Bob Bryant; her son, David Couch, and daughter-in-law, Mary; her daughter, Martha Couch, and son-in-law, Wally; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.
The family thanks the great staff at Brookside Manor, who cared for Hap for seven and a half years until her death at age 98 on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008.
Family and friends are invited to Brookside Manor on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 1-3 p.m., to share in remembrance.
Arrangements are under the direction of Anderson's Tribute Center (Funerals, Receptions, Cremations), 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River, OR 97031.
Sayre Taft Colt
Sayre Taft Colt was born in White Salmon, Wash., on Aug. 6, 1998, and died Aug 2, 2008, at Doernbecher Children's Hospital after a failed 30-day attempt to fight off a MRSA bacteria that had consumed his lungs and finally all his major organs.
Sayre was a very outgoing and well-loved young boy throughout the Hood River and Stevenson communities; his smile and personality affected everyone he came in contact with. He will be missed by all of his classmates at May Street Elementary and his teammates in the many sports in which he participated.
He loved windsurfing, snowboarding, played tennis and soccer and was most recently selected the 'Most Improved Player' by his coaches and teammates on the Les Schwab Little League Baseball team.
This fall Sayre was to have started his first year in football through Hood River Community Education. He was very excited about this and looking ahead to when he could play for his favorite team, the Indianapolis Colts. He was destined to be a great man; we all suffer from his loss and can now only be grateful for the short time he brightened our lives.
Sayre Taft Colt is survived by his father, J. McGregor 'Greg' Colt, of Hood River; his mother, Charmaine Conlan Colt, of Stevenson, Wash.; and six siblings: Kaylee Ann Colt, 12, of Hood River, Courtney Ann Colt, of Los Angeles, Maurice Conlan Colt, of Stevenson, Parisa Tangestani-Nejad, of Los Angeles, Amir Tangestani-Nejad, of Los Angeles, and Harley Hays Colt and his wife, Laurie, and two children, Ian and Riley, of Puyallup, Wash.
Present in his room at his passing were his mother and father, eight of his aunts and uncles and five of his siblings. The outpouring of support and prayers from the entire Gorge community during the final days of his life was phenomenal and greatly appreciated by the entire family.
Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 1501 Belmont Ave., Hood River. Graveside rites will follow at St. Mary's Catholic cemetery. Following the graveside committal everyone is invited to a reception behind St. Mary's in the baseball field where Sayre enjoyed many afternoons.
All who knew Sayre are encouraged to attend the services and the celebration of his life immediately following the graveside services.
Arrangements are under the direction of Anderson's Tribute Center (Funerals, Receptions, Cremations) 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River, OR 97031.
