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News Obituaries Obituaries for the day of October 27, 2009
Obituaries for the day of October 27, 2009
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Obituaries for the day of October 27, 2009 Lucille H. CarterLa Grande Lucille H. Carter, 85, of La Grande, died Oct. 26 at a local care center. A full obituary will be available later. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory is in charge of arrangements. Joyce A. Sherman La Grande Joyce Ann Sherman, 72, of La Grande, died Oct. 22 at her home. Services will begin at 2 p.m. Nov. 2 at Loveland Funeral Chapel. A full obituary will be available later. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory is in charge of arrangements. Virginia M. Stubblefield Joseph Virginia Mae Stubblefield, 88, of Joseph, died Oct. 23. A service will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at Bollman Funeral Home. A full obituary will be available later. Memorial contributions may be made to any charity. Roderick Donnelly Formerly of La Grande 1921-2009 Roderick W. ‘Doc’ Donnelly, 88, formerly of La Grande, died Oct. 12 at his home in Richmond. A private family gathering will be held at a later date. Sweeney Mortuary of Condon is in charge of arrangements. Roderick was born May 23, 1921, the first son of Virginia Odessa Wechter and Hamilton Keyes Donnelly at his grandmother’s house at the top of the Donnelly Grade in Wheeler County. He was the grandson of a founding father of Wheeler County. He attended grade school in a one-room school at Service Creek. He attended high school in Fossil where he boarded with several families. After he graduated in 1938, he worked on the Donnelly ranch until the fall of 1941. Between his father and Uncle George (Bags) Donnelly, they farmed 3,000 acres and ran a full band of sheep (1,200) and 50 Herefords. He attended a diesel-electric trade school in Portland and began attending in September 1941. When World War II broke out, he wanted to enlist, but an instructor told him to wait until he graduated in February 1942. The day after graduation, he went into the U.S. Navy. He was awarded The Distinguished Cross, an Air Medal, a Philippine Liberation Medal, an Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and an American Campaign Medal. He was discharged at Bremerton, Wash., on Nov. 25, 1945. A final honor awarded to him for his service to the country was being the grand marshal of the Spray Rodeo in 2008 along with other area veterans. After the war, he returned to the Donnelly Ranch and worked there until he decided to use the GI Bill for some college education and enrolled at Oregon State College in September 1949. While there he met Julé Darling of Portland at a dance class. He courted her and married her in 1952. They moved into a home in the “ghost town” of Richmond and ranched until 1956 when part of the ranch was sold. They then moved to Corvallis so that he could finish his degree. When he found he didn’t like being in freshman classes, he went job-hunting and Boeing hired him for his knowledge of radar equipment. But this was in Seattle and he did not like the traffic or the weather, so he returned to OSU, where he finished his bachelor’s degree in 1960 and master’s degree in 1961. His degree was in vocational ag education. His first job was at Imbler and he taught there until 1965. A job opened up at La Grande High School and it was a two-man department with all classes in shop, welding, electricity and auto mechanics. Both he and his wife were hired, and they moved to La Grande where he taught until 1974. He taught for two more years, one at Enterprise and one at Baker City. He worked seasonally with the U.S. Forest Service, mainly tree marking, until his wife took early retirement in 1985 and they moved back to Richmond. They enjoyed many trips: seeing the rest of the lower 48 states that they hadn’t seen before; overseas trips throughout Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland and a drive up the Alaska Canada Highway to see Alaska. More trips were planned, but his health changed with a severe leg pain that made traveling by plane impossible. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Julé Donnelly of Richmond; children; David Donnelly, M.D., and his wife Rosie of Medford, Linda Donnelly of Richmond, Cindy Fairchild and her husband Scott of B.C., Canada; and nine grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to any local ambulance or library or any charity. Norbert ‘Nibs’ O. Hinzpeter Formerly of La Grande 1919-2009 Norbert “Nibs” Otto Hinzpeter, 89, of Baker City and formerly of La Grande, died of a heart attack Oct. 22 at St. Elizabeth Health Services in Baker City. A celebration of his life will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at Community Connection/Baker Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St. in Baker City. Pastor Sally Wiens of the Haines United Methodist Church will officiate. Friends and family are invited to have a light meal at Community Connection following the service. Nibs was born Dec. 7, 1919, to William and Ida (Harris) Hinzpeter in St. Louis. He lived in St. Louis until he was 15 and enjoyed visiting his relatives on their farms in Illinois; going to the family clubhouse on the Merrimac River to fish and barbecue; and going hunting and fishing with family. He moved to Southern California with his family during the Depression where he attended Compton Union High School. He left school for a while during the Depression and after serving four years in the U.S. Air Force, from 1942 to 1946, he returned to school and graduated in 1947. During his term in the military, he earned an airplane mechanic’s diploma before being honorably discharged with the rank of Private First Class. He then went to Riverside City College in California. On Feb. 14, 1940, Nibs married Ruth H. Carlson in Brea, Calif. Those who knew the couple say they were faithful companions and worked side by side in everything that they did. They say the couple was happily married for 59 years. He lived in Southern California until he was 62, where he worked at U.S. Porcelain and as an air conditioning technician for Southern California Gas Co., from which he retired in 1978 after 35 years of service. From age 62 to age 89 Norbert lived in Eastern Oregon. He retired to La Grande in 1978. He lived on Igo Lane on acreage with his wife and daughter for 10 years. He enjoyed learning to farm and raise animals with the help of his neighbors and friends. He said he was always grateful to be welcomed and thought of as a friend by people of Eastern Oregon. From 1989 to 1997, Norbert and his wife lived in Richland where they spent time fishing and boating on Brownlee and the Snake River. They later moved to Baker City to live near their daughter. His daughter, Susan, said he always encouraged her to get a good education and enabled her to graduate from college and become a teacher. She says he was a devoted father. He enjoyed fishing and camping with his family in Yellowstone and fishing in Brownlee Reservoir in the Snake River. He also liked vegetable gardening and watching birds and other wild animals and being with his “granddogs,” Tootsie and Taffy, and his niece’s dog, Tucker. Norbert enjoyed spending time with his family and friends at holiday dinners, barbecues, picnics, duck hunting trips with his brother and brother-in-laws, vacationing in Yellowstone Park and boating and water skiing at Lake Havasu. Nibs attended the Baker City First Presbyterian Church, volunteered serving food at Baker City Senior Center with the Trail Tenders and the Presbyterian Church and was a Trail Tender volunteer at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. He also volunteered as a SMART reader in Baker City schools. He earned many awards for his volunteer services. He was also a member of the Lions Club of Richland and the Rod and Gun Club in Southern California. He is survived by his daughter, Susan C. Hinzpeter of Baker City; two sisters-in-law, Velma Carlson of Cortez, Colo., and Mildred Russell and her husband Jack of Brea, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Ida; his wife, Ruth, in 2000; sisters, Dorothy Dorcheus and Virginia Anners; and a brother, Lester Hinzpeter. Memorial contributions may be made to any charity in care of Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City 97814. |
