Obituaries for the day of November 8, 2011

LOCAL FUNERALS AND VISITATIONS

Nov. 8 — Carol Phillips, memorial service, 2 p.m., Wallowa Christian Church

Nov. 12 — Vera Culver, 10 a.m., Loveland Funeral Chapel

Nov. 12 — Ross Downing, noon, VFW Hall, Enterprise

Gary Bangs

Union

A service for Gary Bangs, who died Oct. 11, will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Union Cemetery.

Gary was 69 and lived in Union. Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home helped with arrangements.

Vera Culver

Elgin

A celebration of life for Vera Culver, who died Nov. 6, will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at Loveland Funeral Chapel. A full obituary will be available later Vera was 83 and lived in Elgin.

Ross C. Downing

Enterprise

1922-2011

Ross Carl Downing, 89, of Enterprise, died Oct. 30 at Wallowa Memorial Hospital after complications from a recent surgery. He was a resident of Enterprise for 89 years.

A memorial service will begin at noon Saturday at the VFW Hall in Enterprise. He will be buried at Enterprise Cemetery next to his son, Michael.

He was born Sept. 10, 1922, in the Leap area of Wallowa County. His parents were Bill Downing and Ethel Fisher Downing, both of Leap.

Ross was an honored and decorated veteran of WWII on the Navy ship LSM59, serving in both Okinawa and Iwo Jima. He said he was the man who carried the film for the famous Iwo Jima photograph, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.”

He was a lifetime member of the Good Sam Club, the VFW and the American Legion. He worked for many years at the Enterprise school, and for Petrolane Oil Co. He was also a mill worker in both Enterprise and Wallowa. He worked for the Oregonian for 10 years.

Ross was a passionate hunter, fisher and camper, when his health allowed it.

Ross survived two triple bypass heart surgeries, in 1971 and 2000, but did not survive a blood clot surgery in early October.

Ross Downing and his wife, Murna Noregaard, were married 66 years. They married on July 26, 1945, while on survivors leave after his ship was struck and sank in Iwo Jima. They were married in the Noregaard home in Enterprise.

The couple spent many retirement years vacationing in Arizona during the winter months.

He was preceded in death by his son, Michael Lynn Downing.

He is survived by his wife, Murna; son, Clark and his wife, Suzannah Downing; two granddaughters; five great-grandchildren; sister, Edith and her husband, Bud; and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to any charity.