Obituaries for the day of January 25, 2010

Conrad, Spainhower, Gruis, McClary, Vess, Zollman, Halvorson, Thomas

LOCAL FUNERALS AND VISITATIONS

Jan. 23 — Don Conrad, celebration of life gathering, 2 p.m., Enterprise VFW hall, Enterprise

Jan. 30 — Jerry Spainhower, celebration of life, 11 a.m., Seventh-day Adventist Church, Enterprise

Bethel M. Gruis, 84, of La Grande, died Jan. 22 at a local care center. A complete obituary will be available later. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.

Denny B. McClary, 81, of Elgin, died Jan. 23 at a hospital in Boise.

A complete obituary will be available later. Loveland Funeral Chapel & Crematory is in charge of the arrangements.

Lily V. Vess, 81, of La Grande, died Friday at Grande Ronde Hospital. A funeral service will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Loveland Funeral Chapel.

A complete obituary will be available later. Loveland Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Sharron Zollman, 72, of La Grande and formerly of Wallowa, died Jan. 23 at a local care center. A complete obituary will be available later. Loveland Funeral Chapel & Crematory is in charge of the arrangements.

Kenneth Wilbur “Ken” Halvorson, 82, of Hermiston and formerly of La Grande, died Jan. 22 at his home.

At his request, there will be no services held at this time. A celebration of life graveside service with military honors will be held at the Hermiston Cemetery at a later date. Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.

Ken was born April 19, 1927, to Andrew and Anna (Berg) Halvorson at Bottineau, N.D. Ken was raised in North Dakota until the family moved to La Grande when he was in high school. He graduated from high school in La Grande.

On July 1, 1950, he married Ruby Marie Thorne in Walla Walla. Ken served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict from 1950 until 1956. After the service he returned to La Grande where he worked for Pacific Northwest Bell and then for Boise Cascade. In 1989 he retired and moved to Selah, Wash., for three years and finally to Hermiston where the couple has lived since. Ken attended the Lutheran Church. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and he loved his grandsons.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ruby of Hermiston; daughter, Kenda and her husband, Steven Irby, of Otis Orchards, Wash.; brother, Eldon Halvorson of Mesa, Ariz.; sister, Grace Madsen of Salem; two grandsons; and nine nieces and three nephews.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Jeanne Halvorson in 2004; and his parents.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Oregon Trail Special Olympics, P.O. Box 28, Hermiston 97838.

Nellie Mae Thomas, 90, of La Grande, died Jan. 20 at the home of her son in Vancouver, Wash. A funeral was held Saturday at Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center. Burial followed at Hillcrest Cemetery.

She was born Dec. 5, 1919, to George and Myrtle (Crane) Stewart in Nyssa. She was educated in Nyssa, and on Nov. 16, 1940, she married Elbur Thomas.

She worked in retail sales and was a member of the VFW. She enjoyed gardening, bowling and fishing.

Survivors include her sons, Elton Thomas of Camano Island, Wash., and John Thomas of Vancouver; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; brother, Wilbur Stewart of Ontario; and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her husband; two sons, Dennis and Wayne; and brothers, David, Joe and Charlie.

Memorial contributions may be made to Union County Search and Rescue in care of Daniels-Knopp, 1502 Seventh St., La Grande.

The Observer publishes free obituaries as a community service. Obituaries are edited to fit news guidelines. Photos are encouraged. Paid space is available for families who would like to include more information. Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center posts unedited obituaries at www.danielsknopp.com, and Loveland Funeral Chapel & Crematory posts obituaries at www.lovelandfuneralchapel.com.