Obituaries for the day of October 20, 2011

Bill Brown

Formerly of La Grande

A memorial for Bill Brown, who died July 12 in Spokane, Wash., will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Northeast Oregon Public Transit Center, 2204 E Penn Ave. in La Grande. Bill Brown was 96 and a former resident of La Grande.

Mattie A. Davis

Enterprise

1918-2011

Mattie A. Davis, 92, of Enterprise, died Oct. 19 at her home. A celebration of life will begin at 10 a.m. Monday at Enterprise Christian Church. Burial will follow at Enterprise Cemetery.

Mattie was born Dec. 27, 1918, to Joseph H. Taylor and Gleana G. Merrit Taylor at Minam. She married Roy O. Davis July 9, 1936. He preceded her in death in 1971.

Roy and Mattie had a little farm on Chico out of Enterprise. In 1955, the couple moved to town so their daughter, Loretta, could go to high school. Mattie worked at the dairy and turned it into Davis Cafe. It was in the family for 42 years until Mattie retired to devote herself to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and her religion.

She is survived by sons, LeRoy and his wife, Becky Davis, and Dan and his wife, Nancy Davis; daughters, Loretta Croghan and Elaine and her husband, Jim Joyner; 10 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; and a few great-great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by two brothers, three sisters and one granddaughter.

Memorial contributions may be made to any charity in care of Bollman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 547, Enterprise, OR 97828.

David E. Hickey

La Grande

1919-2011

David Ernest Hickey, 92, of La Grande, died Oct. 14 at the home of his son, David D. and Brenda Hickey in Upper Perry. At his request, there will be no services. Loveland Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.

David was born May 18, 1919, to Stanley and Nellie Hickey in Cottage Grove. He was the ninth of 12 children. David was taken out of school at the age of 9 to help his father work on the 500-acre family farm in Cottage Grove. He also worked in the mines above Cottage Grove, and traveled around Southern Oregon and the coast to help his father in the logging industry. At the age of 17, he entered the U.S. Army, serving from 1937 to 1944.

In 1944, he married Vera Helen Arneson, and in 1947, he moved his family to Humboldt County, Calif., to fall timber in the redwood forests. David said he was the first man to use a Buckley chain saw with a 7-foot bar on it to fall redwood trees. He said they told him it couldn’t be done, but he showed them it could.

In 1973, David and Vera divorced. He retired from logging in the redwoods in 1992 at the age of 73 and moved to Perry to be near his family. In 1977, he married Ellen Katheirn Comer.

David is survived by his wife, Ellen of La Grande; his children, Joyce Becker of Washougal, Wash., Rita Burton of Aurora, David D. Hickey of La Grande and Joy Cunningham of Molalla; 15 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his son, Larry Dean Hickey.

Wayne W. Huff

Formerly of La Grande

1922-2011

Wayne W. Huff, 89, died unexpectedly Oct. 11 at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Ontario. Services are not planned.

Wayne was born Feb. 2, 1922, in Halfway to Clarence and Minnie Huff. He was one of 10 children. He married Juanita Steele on Aug. 19, 1940. Together, they had three children — son Jerry, daughter Kathleen and son Kim.

Wayne was a paratrooper in WWII. He was an employee with Oregon Fish and Wildlife for 37 years.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Letha Craft and Rita Erickson; six brothers, Clare, Ernest, Theodore, Burrell, William and Jimmy Huff; his wife and love of his life, Juanita; and son, Jerry.

He is survived by a brother, Dean and his wife, Aleah Huff, of Seattle; daughter, Kathleen Smith of Battle Mountain, Nev.; son, Kim and his wife, Joy Huff, of Hermiston; six grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.