Obituaries for the day of July 17, 2009

Gibson, McLaughlin, Burford, Conaway, Neiditch, McKennon

LOCAL FUNERALS AND VISITATIONS

July 18 — Elley Gibson, services, 1 p.m., Faith Center Church, 10300 South D St., Island City

July 20 — Anna McLaughlin, services, 1 p.m., Summerville Baptist Church

July 22 — Opal Burford, funeral service, 2 p.m., Union United Methodist Church, Union

Aug. 22 — Ruth Conaway, graveside service, 11 a.m., Grandview Cemetery

Opal Burford, 90, of Union, died July 15 at Grande Ronde Hospital. A funeral service will begin at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Union United Methodist Church.

A full obituary will be available later. Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center is in charge of arrangements.

Anna McLaughlin, 98, of La Grande, died July 16 at a local care center. Services will begin at 1 p.m. Monday at Summerville Baptist Church.

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

Virginia Neiditch, 86, of Imbler, died July 16 at Grande Ronde Hospital.

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

La Grande native Dallas R. McKennon, 89, recently of Raymond, Wash., died July 14 at the Willapa Harbor Care Center. A memorial service will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1 at the Cannon Beach Community Presbyterian Church in Cannon Beach. Stoller’s Mortuary in Raymond, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.

He was born July 19, 1919, to Raymond and Grace (Carter) McKennon in La Grande. For more than 40 years Dallas had an extensive career in the entertainment business including radio, TV and movies, on camera and off. He has been officially credited with more than 160 various character voices such as Gumby, Buzz Buzzard and Archie.

A career starting in radio at KGW in Portland moved on to dreams of Hollywood. His “Captain Jet” was one of the first daily children’s TV shows in Los Angeles. He enjoyed many years of voice work with Walt Disney and Walter Lantz.

Dallas became “Cincinnatus” on Fess Parker’s “Daniel Boone” TV series. Through the years he worked with many interesting people such as Alfred Hitchcock, Elvis Presley and Johnny Carson.

Dallas had been a member of AFTRA and Screen Actors Guild for 57 years. After residing in the Hollywood area for 16 years the McKennon family moved back to Oregon at Cannon Beach where Dallas began writing and performing his musical productions including “Johnny Appleseed,” “Kaintuck” and “Wagons Ho.”

Dallas was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Army signal corps. He married Betty Warner Dec. 6, 1942, in Portland. She survives him in Aberdeen, Wash. Dallas is also survived by six daughters, Dalene Lackaff of Woolwich, Maine, Barbara Porter and Linda Strozyk, both of Raymond, Wash., Gayle McKennon of Hyannis, Mass., Tamara Rock of South Bend, Wash., and Wendy McKennon of North Bend; two sons, Jerald McKennon of Tualatin and Steven McKennon of Newberg; 21 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.