Obituaries for the day of May 5, 2009

Obituaries for the day of May 5, 2009

Richard F. Kunkle

Enterprise

Richard Fredrick Kunkle, 93, of Enterprise, died April 28. A service will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Katherine Catholic Church in Enterprise.

Marvin E. Culver

Formerly of Elgin

1928-2009

Marvin Eugene Culver, 81, of Altus, Okla., and formerly of Elgin, died May 2 in Oklahoma. A memorial service will be held at Kincannon’s Funeral Home in Altus, Okla., on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. A private family gathering for those in Oregon and Washington is planned later.

Marvin was born Nov. 12, 1928, in Durkee Valley, the third of five children born to Guy and Elmy (Hesner) Culver. He graduated from Baker High School in 1946.

 He served in the Army during the Korean War.

Later the family moved to Elgin. He was an owner and mechanic at the Atlantic Richfield service station. He was married to Patricia Buschke and together they raised three children. The family moved to the Tri-Cities, Wash., in 1965 where he served as a long-time mechanic and handyman for Atlantic Richfield, Richland Rentals, Thompson Mechanical, and the city of Richland.

He married Wanda Taylor Kassman in 1981. They lived in the Tri-Cities until his retirement and then moved to co-locate in Altus, Okla., with sister-in-law Lucille Beeson.

He always took a good “stretch of the legs” walk each day, loved music and danced his own little jig, liked a good joke, enjoyed traveling and seeing the sites. He worked hard grooming his yard and fussed over his garden. He liked home-cooked meals and a big bowl of ice cream for dessert.

Marvin is survived by his wife Wanda; his children, Patsy Culver Kwis and husband Ron of Kennewick, Wash., Brian Culver and wife June of Brier, Wash., and Marc Culver and wife Josette of Cheney, Wash.; stepdaughter, Lucy Brett and husband Dwight and children of Richland, Wash.; stepson, Robert Taylor; brothers, Clifford Culver and wife Jeannine of Baker City; and Delmer Culver and wife Kayce of Umatilla. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Kathleen Weatherspoon Slack and Elvera Scott Trump of Elgin. He leaves behind many nieces and nephews of the Culver/Scott/Weatherspoon families of Eastern Oregon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to local hospices or prevention of Alzheimer’s programs.

Andrew E. King

North Powder

1968-2009

Andrew E. King, 40, of North Powder, died May 1 at Grande Ronde Hospital. There will be no services. His family says his ashes will be set free in the mountains this summer. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.

Andrew was born July 13, 1968, to James A. and Judith I. (Berwald) King in Forest Grove. He attended school in Banks, where he lived for 16 years before moving to Cherry Grove for three years.

In 1993, Andy’s folks were disabled and wanted to move back to the Baker Valley. Andy decided to move with them. In 2000, they moved to North Powder, where they remain.

Andy loved paving, which he did on the Oregon coast. He did concrete and construction for Ron DeRoest of Baker City. Andy was injured while working and ended up disabled. He loved hunting anything that moved, fishing, and camping with his dog Sam.

He is survived by his parents, a grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Memorial contributions may be sent to Loveland Funeral Chapel, 1508 Fourth Street,

La Grande 97850, to assist with funeral expenses.

‘Len’ E. Samples

Joseph

1932-2009

Leonard “Len” Edward Samples, 76, of Joseph, died April 28 at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. A celebration of life is planned for July 11 at Wallowa Lake State Park. Bollman Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Leonard was born July 13, 1932, to Hugh Samples and Fern Irene Griffin Samples in Rapid City, S.D. When Leonard was a small child, the family moved to Hullet, Wyo. They later moved to Kinzua where he attended school until the end of his junior year of high school. The family then moved to Medford. While there, he enlisted in the Army where he served during the Korean Conflict from 1951 to 1954.

Upon his return from Korea, he married Joan Otto in December 1953 and moved to Joseph. He later married Millissa Henderson in June 1978. They divorced and in September 1982, he married Patricia Kreutzer.

During his early years in Joseph, he left to attend Molar Barber College in Portland. For many years, he had his own shop in Joseph. He also worked as a timber faller, mill worker and ranch hand. At the time of his death, Leonard was retired.

In the early 1970s, Leonard was the constable of Joseph and was a volunteer firefighter. He was a member and past president of the Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers and a member of the VFW.

Leonard learned to play music at an early age and it was a life-long passion. He played for many benefits as well as for shows and contests, winning many trophys. He was always willing to help others get started with music and felt blessed by the fact that his children inherited his talent and love of music.

Leonard was an avid hunter from a young age. He enjoyed sharing his love of the outdoors and hunting with his family and friends.

Leonard is survived by his wife, Pat of Joseph; sons, Caleb and his wife, Darcy Samples, of Joseph and Tyson and his wife, Lesley Garoutte Samples, of La Grande; daughters, Angelee and her husband, Glen Scott of Boise and Kara and her husband, Lance Redding, of Lacey, Wash.; stepsons, Daryl Kreutzer of Medford and Aaron and his wife, Tamara Kreutzer of Joseph; stepdaughters, Elizabeth and her husband, Ron Leal of Medford and Kim Kreutzer and her husband, Eric Hochendoner, of Medford; daughter-in-law, Crystal Nesselrodt of Boise; brother, Tom and his wife, Nancy Samples, of Wallowa; sister, Darlene Green of Central Point; 19 grandchildren; and one great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his oldest son, Daniel Samples.

Arthur G. Warren

Union

1935-2009

Arthur George Warren, 73, of Union, died April 30 in

La Grande due to a brain aneurysm stroke with family surrounding him. A potluck for family and community will be held in Union at a future date. Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center in

La Grande is in charge of arrangements.

Art was born May 16, 1935, to Eva and Rutherford Warren in Linwood, Kan. He had one sister, Maggie Ermey. It was in New Plymouth, Idaho, that he met and married Sherryl Lee of Halfway. Sherryl and Art were married for more than 23 years and had seven kids — four boys and three girls.

Art was a Jack of All Trades. He proudly served in the Navy, ranched in Kansas, farmed in Washington and pumped fuel in Oregon. He ended his career as a horticulture specialist in Union.

Those who knew him jokingly say they thought the G initial in his name stood for grumpy. They say inside he had a warm heart but he sure had a pretty hard outer shell. Regardless of his demeanor, they say they all loved him, inside and out and knew his bark was bigger than his bite. His walls were adorned with numerous pictures of all his children and grandchildren.

Art is survived by his seven children and their spouses, Jack and Theresa Warren of Minnesota, Dorthea and Warren Sutor of Union, Art and Nancy Warren of Union, Sherryl and Gil Silva of Union, Sean and Sonja Warren of Nampa, Stuart and Rachel Warren of La Grande and Regena and Chris Clark of Union; 33 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren; and his only sibling, Maggie Ermey of Toppenish, Wash.

Art had the heart and compassion to reach out to Lee and Melea Burke, his biological children’s half brother and sister. He is also survived by them and their spouses, Lee and Amanda Burke of Ft. Campbell, Ky., and Melea and Ryan of Nampa. Art was preceded in death by his parents; and a granddaughter, Shanyn Miller.

Art did not want any funeral services on his behalf. His only request was to be cremated and to be placed with his parents in Leavenworth, Kan. The family will be accepting donations in lieu of flowers at Community Bank in Union to accommodate his last request.