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ald Aloys Holcomb
Gerald Aloys Holcomb of Otis, Ore., died September 5, 2012 at his home. He was 67.
Gerald was born on the fourth of July in 1945. He was adopted as an infant by Georgianna Holcomb, of Tacoma, Washington, and welcomed into her home. “Gerry”, as he liked to be called, spent his childhood in Tacoma and from an early age showed a high level of talent with the piano. Gerry became a skilled pianist after extensive practice with the family’s grand piano. He received additional instruction from church leaders and eventually earned a college scholarship for his skill with the piano.
As a young adult in the '70s, Gerry traveled the country as a long-haul truck driver. He found his way to Berkeley, California and called the bay area home for twenty years. Here, Gerry met up with Edward (“Ed”) Rose. The two became good friends, along with Ed’s spouse, Eileen Reboh. Gerry worked as an electrician and could be counted on to help friends with electrical problems, whether it was fixing something or installing fixtures. The San Francisco 49ers were his favorite football team and he was a ardent fan.
Over the years, Gerry and his friends decided they needed a change of pace from the pressures of big city life. In 2003, when Ed and Eileen decided to move to Oregon, Gerry helped out bringing their dogs and many belongings. Once he saw the area, he became attracted to its natural beauty and spent the rest of his life calling Otis home. Gerry specifically enjoyed Panther Creek, finding it peaceful. Gerry was a frequenter of the Drift Wood Library and read extensively. He occasionally attended mass at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Lincoln City.
Gerry will be forever remembered by friends for his keen intellect, for tutoring Eileen’s daughters in Algebra and his ability to spell any word thrown at him. Gerry is survived by his close friends; Ed Rose and Eileen Reboh of Otis, Siobhan Reboh of Eugene, Shannon Reboh and Keiran Reboh-Blake of Otis. A funeral mass in Gerry’s honor will be held at noon on September 27, 2012, at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Lincoln City.
Florence Griggs
Sister Francella Mary, (Florence Griggs), died at the Marie-Rose Center at Mary's Woods in Lake Oswego on Jan. 7, 2012. She was 91. She was a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names for 71 years.
Sister Francella was the daughter of Lloyd Manley and Amanda West Griggs, born on Feb. 5, 1920, the older of their two daughters. Her childhood would seem to an outsider to have been a sad one, for her father died when she was 3, and her mother died when she was 9. Their mother was admitted to the Tuberculosis hospital in Salem the same day as her two little daughters left their home in Siletz to enter Christie School. Their mother had the happiness of seeing them in their First Communion dresses just before she died.
Sister Francella, in her customary optimistic way, remembered happily the care and advice her mother gave her, and enjoyed the school and sisters at Christie, where she stayed until her senior year of high school. After graduating from St. Mary's in Medford she entered the Holy Names novitiate and made her first profession of vows on her 23rd birthday.
After earning a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish, Sister Francella went on to become a much loved high school teacher at Holy Names Academy in Seattle, at Holy Names Academy in Spokane, at Sacred Heart Academy in Salem, at St. Mary's High School in Eugene, Star of the Sea, Astoria and St. Mary's Academy in Portland. At least three Holy Names sisters feel they owe their vocations to Sister's example. A wonderful correspondent, she kept in touch with many of her pupils through the years.
In the late 1960s, she turned her attention to her cultural roots. The tribe to which her family belonged, the Siletz, had been terminated decades before. She joined a commission, which, with the help of Senator Mark Hatfield and other Oregon congressmen resulted in reestablishing the Confederated Tribes of that nation. She became an "esteemed elder," and the oldest member of the tribe, and served as the grand marshal of their victory parade several years ago. In her work she assumed some prestigious positions: executive director of the Portland Urban Indian Program, on the board of Native American Rehabilitation Association (NARA), professor in the Indian Center at Eastern State University in LaGrande. Every student was important to her - from fourth graders in New Mexico to minority students at Jefferson High School in Portland. She spent many years in the Southwest working with Native American and Hispanic children.
In the Holy Names community, Sister was noted for her cheerful, unflappable personality, her good humor, appreciation of all God's creatures and complete trust in God's love and guidance. She was always ready to help, and always ready for a good time.
Sister Francella is survived by family members, the Siletz Tribe and members of her religious community. Remembrances may be made to the Holy Names Sisters Foundation, P.O. Box 411, Marylhurst, OR 97036.
The Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the Provincial House Chapel.
She will be buried with her tribal family on the Siletz reservation.
Arrangements entrusted to the care of Riverview Abbey in Portland.
Marj Nylund
Marj Nylund, 77 of Lincoln City, died in her home in the early morning hours of September 9, 2012 as a result of pulmonary disease.
She is survived by her daughter, Jeri Nylund of Sacramento, California, son Craig Hyslop of Lincoln City, grandaughter Emily and great-grandson Nathaniel of Reno, Nevada and grandson Brian of Portland, Oregon.
A remembrance will be held at Theatre West in the near future.
Stanley D. Harmon
Stanley D. Harmon, age 85 of Depoe Bay, Ore., passed away on September 7, 2012 at his home surrounded by his family.
Stanley was born April 16, 1927 in Northwood, Iowa to Elmer and Lena Harmon.
A celebration of life service is pending at this time.
Arrangements are entrusted to Bateman Funeral Home.
Zachary Konowalchuk
Zachary Konowalchuk, 24, of Newport, Oregon, passed away from natural causes on October 8, 2012.
Zach was born in Florida on July 21, 1988 to Frances and David Konowalchuk.
Zach was a charismatic young man and very talented local musician.
A Celebration of Zach's Life will be held at the Performing Arts Center in Newport later this month.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a lasting Foundation that is being established in Zach's name to benefit youth, music students and the arts.
An announcement will be made with more information when available.
Services entrusted into the care of Affordable Burial & Cremation Co.
Stephen Edgington Jordan
Stephen Edgington Jordan came into this world on August 4, 1932, in Wallowa, Oregon. He was born to the late U.S. Senator Len B. Jordan and author Grace Edgington Jordan.
When he was only seven months old, he, along with his sister Patricia and brother Joseph, moved with their parents to a remote sheep ranch in Hell’s Canyon where he received his early education, being taught by his mother as there were no schools in the canyon. He first entered public school in the fifth grade in Grangeville, Idaho, where he graduated in 1949. He graduated from the University of Idaho in 1955 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. After graduating from college, Steve was employed by General Electric Company in the Gas Turbine Department in Schenectady, New York.
Steve was married
to Eleanor Knucky in 1959. They had two children, Kirk Stephen in 1960, and Kathleen Casey in 1963. They also adopted two children, a daughter, Jordan, and a son, Tien David. Steve was later married
to Colleen Maynard (nee Pierce) in 1978. They adopted one son, Kenneth Deane.
In upstate New York, Steve was very active with youth groups and spent many hours camping, hiking, and teaching his own children, as well as at riskť children from that area. He always loved working with youth.
Steve was employed in the G.E. gas turbine business most of his career. Although, in 1980 he accepted a position with the Arabian American Oil Company in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He worked a total of seven years in Saudi Arabia and enjoyed the Saudi people very much. He often said the happiest years of his life were spent in Saudi Arabia. After completing his work in Saudi Arabia, he accepted a job in Houston, Texas. Between assignments he moved to Boise, Idaho, to be near his mother in her final years.
With retirement in mind, in 1996, he took a course in home inspection which enabled him to leave Houston and other big cities behind and move to Lincoln City, Oregon, to perform home inspections. He retired from this work in 2004. He always loved Oregon (as well as Idaho where he grew up) and longed to return to the West where the friendliest people on earth reside.
When in college, Steve was a Sigma Chi. Those days were happy ones where he had many friends and participated in interesting social activities. It brought smiles to his face when he recalled those days of his youth.
Steve was a member of the United Church of Christ (Congregational Church) in Lincoln City. For several years he was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Lincoln City where he directed the award winning Kiwanis Kazoo Band. He enjoyed Taft High sports and the youth of this community.
In the latter years, he loved living and playing with wonderful neighbors in the Coronado Shores community. His favorite pastime was playing the guitar, singing, and being with friends and family. He also spent lots of time camping in the beautiful Oregon campgrounds. In addition, he treasured the company of his super golf buddies. So what if they were not in the league with Tiger Woods. They enjoyed a special comradery.
He is survived by his wife, Colleen, of the home, and five children: Kirk of Conway, Arkansas; Tien of Sapulpa, Oklahoma; Kenneth of Lincoln City, Oregon; Dr. Casey Jordan of New Milford, Connecticut; Jordan of Denver, Colorado, as well as eight amazing grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother and sister.
Memorial was held on Monday, May 10 2015 Lincoln Congregational Church.
Marcella Taylor
Marcella (Marcy) Frances (Johnson) Taylor died Nov. 24, 2012. She was born in Oregon City, Oregon on March 27, 1924, first generation and only child of Byron Mark and Frances (Shannon) Johnson. She lived her first 18 years at Zigzag , Oregon, her residence was four miles from the Mt. Hood Highway, sans electricity and other accouterments. She graduated from Welches Grade School (1938) and Sandy Union High School (1942). Traveled by bus on a very twisting and curving road to Sandy for high school, left her home at 6:00 am and did not arrive back home until 6:00 pm.
When she arrived in Eugene at age 18, for the first time in her life she had the joy of using electricity, hot water 24 hours a day, and a phone you did not have to crank to get the operator. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS degree in 1946. While there she was a columnist for the Daily Emerald. She belonged to various honorary societies. Worked for the Athletic Department, tutoring athletes in mathematics. Graduate assistant when a senior for the head of the Sociology Department.
Marcella taught mathematics at Estacada High School (1946—1951), Canby High School (1950—1960) and Walla Walla Community College. She substituted in various schools in Oregon and Washington. She received a MS degree from Walla Walla College (1971). She continued her education all the rest of her life, doing more graduate work at University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Western Oregon and Portland State.
Marcella came to Taft High School, Lincoln City, Oregon, in 1971 as a counselor and was there until her retirement in 1991. In 1989 she was selected as teacher of the year in Lincoln County.
In her teaching career, she served on many State Department of Education committees including the selection of state adopted mathematics text books.
When she retired, friends from Taft High School, Lincoln County School District, ex-students and parents gave her a round trip air ticket to London and further funds to buy a round trip air ticket to Prague and a hotel room for a week.
All this enabled her to be in Europe when school started the following fall. She often said one of the most difficult things she had ever done was to turn in her keys and walk out of Taft High School on her last day of employment. She never thought of her work as a job, but a place where she was allowed to go every day for twenty years and have the time of her life.
To fill that void in her life after retirement, she volunteered to “save the world” with an emphasis on assisting children.
She was on the founding board of Oregon Coast Community College, and served as chair; founding board of the Lincoln County Commission on Children and Families; board member of the State of Oregon Citizens’ Review Board; Lincoln County Non-Profit Social Service Agency Committee; board chair of Small Grant Committee for LCCCF; Samaritan North Lincoln Citizen Advisory Committee; board member and mentor of Together We Read; volunteer at the Driftwood Library tutoring on how to use the internet and email; and as a tutor in ESL.
In 2005 she received the Driftwood Award from the Driftwood Public Library for support and promotion of the library. She was actively involved in the Dark and Stormy Night series at the library since 2005 that features Oregon mystery writers.
A member of AAUW, she served as president for three years. She belonged to the very best book club that one could imagine.
As a young person she read all of Richard Halliburton’s travel books. This led to her dream of traveling. She has visited more than 50 countries in the world. She was never able to partake in a camel caravan across the Sahara Desert as Halliburton did, but did ride an elephant in a jungle in Thailand, waddled with penguins in Argentina, and played “chicken” with Barbary apes on the island of Gibraltar.
The joy of her life were her two children Bruce and Mary. They survive her with the respective spouses, children and grandchildren; Bruce and Pattee, their son Marcus and his family; Mary and Raymond Clark and their children Taylor and Morgan.
She often said that if she touched anyone’s life she hoped it was in a positive way.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Marcy Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Lincoln County Foundation, 8423 Yaquina Bay Road, Newport, OR 97365 would be appreciated. A memorial service is being scheduled for early next year.
Mary Louise Starker Gory
September 29, 1918 - January 5, 2013
Mary Louise Starker Gory passed away peacefully with her family by her side in Lincoln City, Oregon on Saturday, January 5, 2013 after a long and adventurous life. Born on September 29, 1918 she was 94 years old. Mary was preceded in death by her husband Eddy R. Gory in 2004. She is survived by her children Thomas and Edward (Ted) Gory, her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews and numerous long-time friends.
Mary's zest for life was contagious as she embraced each moment with love, kindness and lots of humor. For many years she was a regular member of a writer's group and loved to write of her travels far away and of her life on the river in Otis where she and her family lived since 1956. She left countless journals with tales of travel, outings with friends, humorous fiction and non-fiction stories of wildlife on the river and estuary and stories involving creative fictional characters such as the mystery-solving chipmunks; the cookie thief squirrel and generous little mice. Her love of children was evident in the delightful stories she told and wrote for them. Several of her stories were published in local papers and some magazines; all will be treasured for generations to come.
Mary also loved to paint. As a self-taught painter she portrayed on canvas in oil and watercolor the beauty that surrounded her life on the Oregon coast. Along with her paintings and her stories, Mary loved sharing stories of her life in Otis, as a wife and mother of two and a local business woman. Some may remember Mary as owner and operator of the “Pronto Pup” stand in Otis for 11 years. She also loved to tell people at one time she was the “self-appointed mayor” of Otis.
Mary's ever present positive attitude ensured there was nothing she couldn't do. Anyone that knew her was instantly endeared to her infectious smile, unconditional caring and delightful sense of humor. Although Mary's passing has left an immense void in our hearts, her love, her beautiful smile and her unwavering spirit shall live with us until the end of our days.
One of Mary's favorite days to celebrate was Groundhog's Day when she would invite friends to her home for an indoor winter picnic; checkered tablecloths, paper plates, plastic forks and all. So in honor of that joyful event in Mary's life, a “Celebration of Life” will be held on Groundhogs Day, Saturday February 2, 2013 at 2 p.m. in the afternoon at the Otis Fire Hall where her husband Eddy was a fire department volunteer for many years. It is located at 384 Old Scenic Hwy. 101, Otis, Oregon.
The family would like to extend their gratitude to all of Mary's friends and family and the wonderful staff and residents of Heritage Living for their, selfless care, love and kindness and all the laughter and happy moments they brought to Mary's life.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you write a story to share of a delightful experience you had with Mary and in honor of her extraordinary life, live your lives doing what you love, be generous and grateful, be loving and happy and most of all, don't forget to laugh.
Ronald Wayne "Woody" Woodard
1/13/22 — 1/20/13
Ronald was born in Olympia, Washington, to Lola Carey Woodard and Erwin D. Woodard. His father passed away on his 6th birthday and his mother later married
Fred Wilcox. He enjoyed telling stories of his growing up years on Puget Sound.
After graduating from Olympia High School in 1940 he moved to Springfield, OR where he met his future wife, Elner J. Stiffler. Ronald joined the Army Air Corps in January 1942. He and Elner married
in Wichita Falls, TX on May 15, 1942.
He served his country in the European theater. He was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge and received the bronze star. He fought in Belgium, received a good conduct citation in the American Theater, a battle star, and both Belgium and France Liberations medals.
After the war he moved to Springfield, OR working at Orchard Auto Parts where he advanced to manager of the Springfield store. In 1963 he and his wife decided to purchase Lantz Motor Company (a NAPA business) in Nelscott, OR (now Lincoln City). In 1974 he moved the business to a new building in the Delake section of Lincoln City. In 1976 he opened a second NAPA store in Cloverdale, OR.
After retiring in 1984 he and Elner moved to South Salem and spent many winters in Yuma, AZ. They moved to Quail Run Assisted Living in Albany, OR in 2004.
He is survived by his wife, Elner; son Ronald W. Woodard II of Lincoln City; daughters Jacque Van Damme of Otis, OR and Marilyn W. Barclay (Derek Barclay) of Corvallis; grandchildren Susanna Aston of Albany, OR, Jeremy Van Damme (Stephanie Van Damme) of Otis, OR and Jessica Sacrison (Don Sacrison) of Springfield, OR; and 8 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his father, mother, stepfather, and son-in-law, Larry Van Damme.
Woody believed in hard work and doing things yourself. He built two family houses and did major remodeling on two others. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, bowling, and golf, managing to score a hole in one during a tournament at Ironwood Golf Club in Arizona. For several years he was active as a volunteer fire fighter and member of the Lions Club International, serving a term as president.
He had a great sense of humor, having a large store of jokes from his days in outside sales.
He left this world seven days after his 91st birthday. He will be missed by all that knew him.
Remembrances may be made to SafeHaven Humane Society.
Graveside service to be held Saturday, Feb 2, 2013, 11am at Restlawn Memory Garden, 201 Oak Grove Rd. (West Salem Hwy. 22) Salem, Oregon for family and friends.
