Obituaries for the day of December 3, 2008

Payne, Pereira, Morehead, Dietz

LOCAL FUNERALS AND VISITATIONS

Dec. 5 — Harry Payne, viewing, 4 to 6 p.m., Loveland Funeral Chapel

Dec. 6 — Harry Payne, graveside service, 1 p.m., Island City Cemetery

Dec. 6 — Linda Pereira, celebration of life, 11 a.m., Cove High School; graveside ceremony, Cove Cemetery; community get-together, Ascension School

Robert Charles Morehead, 80, died Sept. 22 at his ranch near Burns.

A memorial service will begin at 2 p.m. Thursday at LaFollette’s Chapel in Burns.

Robert was born to Charles and Madeline Morehead in Heppner. The family lived on Buttercreek until Bob was 5, then moved to Kittitas, Wash., for seven years. Then they moved to Ellensburg, Wash., for one year before moving to

La Grande, where Bob graduated from La Grande High School in 1947.

After working on family farms for a short time, he joined the Army and was stationed in Korea. After his return he worked for an inventive farmer, Champ Bond, near Haines and drove the newly designed rotary snowplow clearing the road to Little Alps Ski Area in the Elkhorn mountains.

He began farming and ranching on his father’s homestead near Soda Springs, Idaho, adding a place near Grace, Idaho, and then Bancroft, Idaho, before moving to Harney County and ranching there for the remainder of his life. He was active in the Oregon Farm Bureau and the American Legion.

He is survived by his sisters, Delpha and Doris; and five nieces and a nephew. His parents and his brother, Glenn, preceded him in death.

Harry Coppage Payne, 82, of La Grande, died Nov. 30 at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Pendleton. A viewing will run from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at Loveland Funeral Chapel. Graveside services will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Island City Cemetery.

Harry was born Feb. 28, 1926, to Elza C. and Georgia Payne in Casper, Wyo. He was raised and educated in Wyoming, Chehalis, Wash., Telocaset, North Powder and La Grande.

He served in World War II as a radio operator for the U.S. Navy. Following his tour of duty, he attended Eastern Oregon College.

He enjoyed spending time with family members and friends, was an avid hunter and fisherman. He enjoyed horseback riding, gardening, as well as other outside activities around the family home. He was also a member of the Mavericks riding club.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marie L. Payne; three sons, Mike Payne and John Payne, both of La Grande, and David and his wife, Becky Payne, of Pendleton; brother, Scott and his wife, Lillian Payne, of Woodburn; sister, Jean Kern of La Grande; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Linda Marie Pereira, 56, of Cove, died Nov. 25. A celebration of life will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday with a service at Cove High School, followed by a graveside ceremony at the Cove Cemetery, and a community get-together afterward at the Ascension School in Cove.

Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation and Life Celebration Center is in charge of arrangements.

Linda Marie Kiser was born Oct. 12, 1952, to Ed and Janet Witt Kiser in Wenatchee, Wash. Her parents separated and Linda moved with her mother to Dublin, Calif., when she was 13 years old. In Dublin, she met Skip Pereira at a teen dance. Later in high school they had one class together, but didn’t get to know each other until after graduation. Linda refused to marry Skip until after he “turned 25 or had a college degree.”

She stayed in California, working in the credit card business for Amfact Co., when he went away to college in La Grande. Linda and Skip sent letters to each other every day while apart, and were married Oct. 9, 1976, in Castro Valley, Calif.

The couple lived in La Grande while Skip finished his schooling, and Linda worked as a bookkeeper and gas station attendant. Skip’s first teaching job was at the Cove School, and Linda fell in love with the old Methodist parsonage house in Cove and bought it in 1984.

Linda remodeled the house, raised two daughters, ran a daycare out of her home, wrote poetry, children’s books and an autobiography, cared for a variety of pets, served as a Girl Scout leader, and inspired a series of young artists by inviting high-school students to illustrate the children’s books she wrote and published.

When her children were older, she worked as a bookkeeper, in-home eldercare provider and later was director of activities for Wildflower Lodge in La Grande.

Linda’s greatest passion was always her immediate family: Skip, daughters Cassie and Carrie and granddaughter Avery. Linda loved her home, and took great joy in the carpentry and other projects she designed over the years as she rebuilt and refurbished the house, gardens and landscaping.

Those who knew her say she was filled with creativity, energy and humor, and she endeared herself to people wherever she went. They say she inspired family and friends with her perennial optimism, frequent laughter and almost unbelievable ability to enjoy profoundly even the less remarkable moments of her life. She liked to describe herself as someone who could “view the world with childlike wonder.”

Linda loved horses and owned five of them over the years. She liked action, activities, adventures and travel and loved planning trips for her family. She took her daughters to Europe, and traveled through several countries by train and bus. She loved riding a motorcycle, skiing, boating and hot-tubbing under the stars.

In Cove, Linda was well known for her exuberance in decorating for holidays and special events, and no child in Cove would consider missing a stop at the Pereiras on Halloween.

She liked to get together with friends for an early morning chat over coffee, and for many years started every day with a 5 a.m. visit to her friend and neighbor, Al Sibley.

Her most recent new hobby, beading, was inspired and supported by finding beautiful old beads at second-hand stores and garage sales. Linda’s ability to create really lovely bead necklaces gave her a constructive outlet for her artistic abilities during times when her physical movements were somewhat limited.

Throughout her adult life, Linda dealt with a series of health issues, always employing her ability to laugh and find joy, and repeatedly beating the odds and amazing her doctors.

During the past two years, her final battle was with leukemia. After finding out that neither Medicare nor her secondary health insurance would pay for the treatment she needed, Linda was amazed and overwhelmed by the generosity of family, friends and strangers. Over a six-month period, $60,000 was donated to help Linda pay for the bone-marrow transplant that was her only hope for long-term survival, and Linda underwent the transplant in early June.

Although in mid-September it looked as if she might have beaten the odds one more time, the leukemia returned.

She is survived by her husband, Skip, of Cove; daughters, Cassie Yazdi of Castro Valley, Calif., and Carrie Pereira of Boise; one granddaughter; and two sisters, Cindy Gonsalves of Vancouver, Wash., and Karen Pape of Livermore, Calif.

Martha Dietz, 90, of La Grande, died Nov. 26 at a local care center. A viewing will be held at the Cherokee Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Lodi, Calif. No funeral service will be held. Loveland Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Martha was born Jan. 8, 1918, in Anamoose, N.D., to Theodore and Johanna (Engel) Trick. She married Roland Dietz Nov. 2, 1941, in Reno, Nev. She lived in Lodi, Calif., most of her life until she moved to La Grande earlier this year. She was a member of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority and the Post 22 American Legion Auxiliary in Lodi.

She was a homemaker and enjoyed crafts, making custom Christmas ornaments, knitting, sewing, gardening and bingo.

She is survived by two brothers, Carl Trick of Cowdrey, Colo., and Leslie Trick of

La Grande; sisters, Alvina Fehling, Olga Fink and Clara Schmollinger, all of California; as well as many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; and a sister, Freida Folsom.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a favorite charity.