>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Evelyn Irene Borine, 86, formerly of La Grande, died Nov. 9 in Bend. Funeral services begin at 11 a.m. on Nov. 21 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1802 Gekeler Lane, La Grande. The family will receive friends at 10:30 a.m. in the church prior to the service. Burial will be at Hillcrest Cemetery. Daniels Chapel of the Valley is in charge of arrangements.

Evelyn was born Feb. 2, 1921, to Glen and Clara John, in Hardin, Mont. The family moved to La Grande during the Great Depression. Evelyn graduated from La Grande High School in 1939.

On Aug. 25, 1940, Evelyn married Harold Marvin Borine. They lived and raised their family at 2112 Cedar St. Harold preceded her in death on May 8, 1988. Evelyn was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She is survived by her children, Valeris and her husband, Loren Westenskow, of East Amherst, N.Y., and Roger and his wife, Debra, of Bend; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; two sisters, Eva Frost of Hermiston and Audrey Taysom of Tempe, Ariz.; and nieces and nephews.

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Robin Smith, 64, of Cove, died Nov. 11 at her home. A memorial service will begin at

10:30 a.m. Friday at the Union Methodist Church. A full obituary will be available later. Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center is in charge of arrangements.

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Esther May Stephenson, 83, of Wallowa died Nov. 10 at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. A memorial service begins at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lostine Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow at Wallowa Cemetery.

Esther was born Feb. 19, 1924, to Erma May (Chenoweth) and William Emmett Landers in Wallowa. She grew up in Wallowa, Weston and Enterprise. She married Dan Oliver on Feb. 21, 1941, Leo Nichocasi on July 3, 1945, Raymond Moats on Nov. 7, 1953, and Samuel Stephenson on Oct. 5, 1973. They all preceded her in death.

Esther worked in the motel business from maid to manager. She was a member of Carnation Rebekah's Lodge and Lostine Presbyterian Church. She enjoyed singing.

Survivors include her children, Stephen Oliver and his wife, Kathy, of Summerville, Sherene "Sherry" Averill and husband, Marvin, of Spokane, William Moats and his wife, Hope, of Clarkston, Wash., Dennis Moats of Wallowa and stepdaughter, Paula Alberda of Montana; 13 grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husbands; son, Richard Oliver; and sister, Mary Carper.

Memorial contributions may be made to Lostine Presbyterian Church in care of Bollman Funeral Home, 315 W. Main St., Enterprise 97828.

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Christofer C. Bertels, 36, of Salem and formerly of Union, Baker and La Grande, died Nov. 6 at Salem Hospital in Salem. A memorial service will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at the Assembly of God Harvest Church, 3720 Birch St., Baker City.

Chris was born Sept. 3, 1971, in La Grande. He was raised in Union and later attended Baker Valley Christian Academy in Baker City. Chris received an associate's degree from Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, and continued his education at the University of Idaho in Moscow. Chris worked for the State of Oregon Insurance Division in Salem.

Chris had a wide range of interests — he knew military history and could quote lines from hundreds of movies. Chris was an excellent bowler and won a number of trophies and rings for perfect games. Chris enjoyed his silver Mustang, on-line gaming and traveling with his good friend, Gail Jones ("Jonesee").

Those who knew him say he will be remembered for his humor, kindness, generosity and sense of adventure.

Chris is survived by his wife, Jennifer of Salem; mother, Barbara of Pendleton; father and stepmother, George and Virginia of Island City; brother, Scott Bingham of Union; sister-in-law, Beth Bingham of Hillsboro; and nephew and niece, who were like siblings to Chris, Sgt. Tony Bingham of the U.S. Army and Sarah Mwango of Hillsboro. Chris' great-niece Malaika was born Nov. 8.

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Elroy H. Zeigler Jr., 87, of Elgin, died at his home Nov. 7. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Loveland Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Elroy was born Nov. 13, 1919, to Elroy and Neoma P. (Meek) Zeigler in Esbon, Kan. The family moved to Colorado, then to Langlois. Elroy went into the service in 1942 and served in the Army as a mail carrier.

He married Grace L. Armstrong in January 1946 in Seattle. The couple moved to McKinley and lived there for more than 50 years. Elroy worked for the Coos County Road Department and in the woods. He loved to hunt and play music for the Old Time Fiddlers in Coquille. They moved to Elgin in 1997 to be closer to family and for health reasons.

Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law, Kathy and Charles Washburn of

La Grande; four grandchildren; brother and sister-in-law, Robert M. and Joyce Zeigler of California; and many nieces, nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Heart-N-Home Hospice, 1435 Campbell St., Baker City 97814.

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Dolores May Allen, 80, of La Grande, died in her sleep Nov. 9 of cancer. A viewing will begin at 9 a.m. and a slide show celebration will begin at 10 Saturday at Loveland Funeral Chapel. Private burial will follow.

Dolores was born Dec. 25, 1926, to C. Eugene (Smiley) Gibson and Nora Duckett Gibson in La Grande. A lifelong resident of La Grande, Dolores attended Eastern Oregon College. Those who knew her say she enjoyed an enduring tradition of love and learning with her family. She lived at Wildflower Lodge for a while.

She is survived by a daughter, Lynn Allen of Farmington, Utah; three grandchildren; many cousins; and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her husband of 39 years, Owen (Dusty) Allen, and her son, Gary.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to support cancer research are welcome.

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Joy Gail Beardsley, 64, of La Grande and formerly of Summerville, died Nov. 12 at her home. A celebration of life will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at the Summerville Cemetery Chapel. Private burial will be at the Summerville Cemetery. Viewing will be held at Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center, 1502 Seventh St., today from 4 to 6 p.m. and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

Joy was born April 15, 1943, to Loren and Edna (Gekeler) Turner in La Grande. She attended Union schools and graduated in May 1961. She was active in volleyball, band and was a drum majorette. She attended Eastern Oregon University and majored in business education.

She was employed by the Union County Clerk's office for several years.

Joy met and married Skip Beardsley and built a beautiful home in Summerville where they raised their three children. She was supportive of all her kids' activities. She was active in her sorority, Delta Epsilon, and was a 4-H leader for quite a few years. She loved country music and dancing, camping with her grandchildren and spending time with her best friends — "the lunch bunch."

She loved sports of all kinds, especially rodeo; entertaining and the holidays; and travel. Those who knew her say she was always game for anything. She moved to La Grande in 2001.

Survivors include her sons, Kevin Beardsley of Gypsum, Colo., and Troy and Denise Beardsley of Gypsum; daughter, Robyn Beardsley and boyfriend, Dan Dix, of La Grande; brother, Darrell Turner of Redmond; sister, Marlene Turner of Union; two grandchildren; three step-granddaughters; nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents. Memorial contributions may be made to any charity.

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Robin Joyce Smith, 64, a third-generation resident of Cove, died Nov. 11 at her home. A memorial service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Union United Methodist Church. Private burial was held at the Cove Cemetery.

Robin was born on Oct. 16, 1943, to Jay M. and Guyene J. (Fuller) Martin in McMinnville. She graduated from Cove High School with the Class of 1961 and in 1962 graduated from Yakima Business College.

On May 24, 1968, she married Stephen B. Smith in Cove. Over the years she worked for the Yakima Potato Commission, La Grande First National Bank, as secretary of the Cove School and as a kindergarten teacher in Cove. She homeschooled her grandchildren for nine years.

Survivors include her husband, Stephen of Cove; children, Shannon Smith of Big Sky, Mont., Heidi Kast of Pendleton and Dustin Smith of Cove; and six grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to GRH Hospice or the Union Methodist Church. Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center is in charge of arrangements.

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Petra Quam Bjerke, 89, died Nov. 11 in California with her family at her side. In accordance with her wishes, there will be no services.

Petra was born on April 26, 1918, to John and Claudia Quam. She was raised in Hamar, N.D., along with nine brothers and sisters. In 1940, she married Alvin Bjerke. They moved to Clearbrook, Minn., where they farmed for many years until relocating to International Falls where they lived until 1995. They raised four children.

Those who knew her say they will cherish the memories of Petra as a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother — appreciating her artistic abilities, paintings and various crafts. Petra was an excellent seamstress, a whiz at word search and loved to bake and to read.

She treasured the memories of family gatherings and retirement when she and her husband traveled to all of the contiguous states and Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Scandinavia and Europe.

Survivors include her children, Monte and Rosemary Bjerke of San Jose, Calif., Patricia and Norman Gorze of Cove, Barbara and Robert Kruzel of Norwood Young America, Minn.; and Denise and Stephen Stott of Merced, Calif.; eight grandchildren; thirteen great-grandchildren; two sisters; one brother; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years; her parents; and six brothers and sisters.

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Georgia Bridwell, 90, of Joseph died Nov. 13. A funeral service will begin at 1 p.m. Monday at the Joseph Cemetery.

Georgia was born Sept. 23, 1917, in Garrett, Ill., to George and Mary Frances Goodson.

Georgia married Hollis Bridwell and lived in Los Angeles for many years. He was a musician, she was a beautician. They had no children.

After retiring in 1980, they moved to Joseph. In 2000, the couple moved into Alpine House. Hollis died in 2001.

Georgia lived in Alpine House the rest of her life. She was known for uplifting her neighbor and staff alike with her cheerful spirit and ability to see beauty in the smallest things.

People who knew her said she had an upbeat attitude and an always ready smile.

Georgia was a member of the Wallowa County Humane Society and had a great love for animals. Memorials may be made through Bollman Funeral Home to the Wallowa County Humane Society.