See "Gone . . . But Not Forgotten" below.

Mike lives in the Cathedral City area in California.  He has lived in Corvallis, OR, Thousand Palms, CA and N Palm Springs, CA.  His wife's name is Tonia Janszen Chestnut.

Darold's obituary is now in the "Gone . . . But Not Forgotten" section below.

Darold ?Smitty? Douglas Smith, 72, of Cottage Grove, OR passed away April 5, 2013, from complications of COPD. He was born April 9, 1940, in Blackduck, MN to Forrest and Bessie (Babb) Smith.

Darold graduated from Cottage Grove High School in 1958 and served in the Marine Corps for four years of active duty and two years of reserve duty.

He married Beverly ?Kay? Heath Sept. 5, 1964 in Creswell and retired from Weyerhaeuser after 30-plus years. Darold enjoyed camping, traveling and being with his family. He was a member of the Independent Order of Foresters.

Survivors include his wife, Kay Smith of Cottage Grove, son Douglas Smith and wife Cindy of Springfield, son Richard Smith and wife Judy of Springfield, daughter Teresa Garner and husband George of Cottage Grove, brothers Darwin Smith of Creswell, Scotty and Lowell Smith, both of Cottage Grove and five grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Louis Smith.

A Celebration of Life was held April 20 from 1?4 p.m. at Stacy?s Covered Bridge Restaurant, Cottage Grove.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Children?s Miracle Network.

Funeral arrangements by Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel, Cottage Grove.

King Estate informed me after the fact that the gratuity was not included in the $35 price and add a 20% tip ($7) to each meal.  That brings the total cost of the meal, space rental and gratuity to $52 per person.  Wine is not included in the cost of the meal.  The winery needs at least half of the total cost to King Estate by June 1.

Location:  80854 Territorial Highway, Eugene, OR 97405
Time:  Noon until 4:30 (Meal to be set out around 1:30 to 2:00 p.m.), August 3rd, 2013
Winery Tours:  Tours of the winery start at noon and run hourly (very informative).
Directions:  From Cottage Grove, head west on Lorane Highway and you'll see the winery on the hillside to the right off of Territorial Highway as you approach Lorane, only about 10 or 11 miles from Cottage Grove.

As a student At Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, I received a notice to get a physical for the military, as my major was not draft-deferred. Into the USMC I go, but eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Professional Art to become an Art Director  at a number of advertising agencies in Los Angeles, and while based in LA, I did stints in San Francisco, Denver and Chicago.

I relaxed by snow skiing and racing a two-person catamaran sailboat. I got into powerboats and used those boats as fire boats in the San Diego Thunderboat Regatta for seven or eight years.

Upon retiring from the ad business, I went to some watercolor workshops and started a series of Art Prints of Life on Highway Route 66 in the 20s, 30s and 40s, so I have traveled the Main Street of America. These limited edition art prints are sold through Owen Prints. Those art pieces plus others have also become labels for hot sauces, barbecue sauce and mustards I sell through Collector Series Sauces.

I took ballroom dance lessons and actually won a dance contest plus realized that dancing is a benefit aboard cruise ships!

As a member of the Pacific Southwest Railroad Museum Steam Team, I helped rebuild Southern Pacific 2353 locomotive which was seen in the film "Pearl Harbor". The Steam Team is currently rebuilding the locomotive "Coos Bay" from those hills in Oregon.

Larry Owen

Wanted to say "hi" to all of you classmates. Nothing much new here except that we are all probably getting a little older. Ha!

Our grandson, Doug, is 22 now, 23 in June. He has been here since he was two days old. He is classified as autistic, but he is very intelligent, and very normal in most ways. He loves gaming, and his "Play Station" and "X-Box" games. He definitely has the gift of gab, and he loves to talk.

I have been a widow for 19 years now. I do not have E-mail but with "snail mail", I keep up with quite a few pen-Chuck pals. One is my very precious retired pastor friend, now in a nursing home in Illinois. We have been best friends for nine years now.

We are very active in our church, and I still lead a ladies Bible Study here in Rainier each Wednesday morning.

My kids are about the same. Chuck, 52 and Francine; Kathy, 50, and John; Linda, 47, and her daughter, Jenny, age 21, (Jenny is not married yet), and Beth, 44, and her boys, Brian, 14 and Josh, 12.

Kathy and John just moved from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Manchester, Kentucky. John has been called to pastor a church there in Manchester. He was in the Army, and was a Chaplain, but now he will be serving this new church.

We keep busy. Doug loves to shop at Target, Walmart and Game Stop. Most of the clerks have gotten to know him.

Our life may seem boring to some, but we manage to keep busy here along with cats, Sparky and Tippy.

I would love to hear from any of you who would care to write and I would answer all letters.

Thelma Blair

Husband:  Bob (Corriea)
Children:
     ?Gene, 47, wife, Dawn.  Children:  Alexandra, 12 and son, Benjamin, 13
     ?Sara, 45.  Children:  Caughter, April, 26 and son Andrew, 20
     ?Twyla, 43
Step-Children:
     ?Bob has four children
GrandChildren:
     ?Thirteen between both of us
Great Grandchildren:
     ?Six great grandchildren between Bob and Corolene

Bob and Corolene are officially retired, however, Bob plays for McDougal Brothers whenever he gets the chance to run cat.

Corolene?s son, Gene, lives in Junction City and works for United Pipe.  Her daughter, Sara, lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and works for Qwest as a network technician.  Twyla works for Weyerhaeuser at Cottage Grove.  Corolene volunteers for Master Recyclers and for the Applegate Art Gallery in Veneta.  She also spends time at the family farm with her Mom and siblings in Delight Valley (which is not very delightful with the freeway running through it).

Nathan Mansfield Sessions, LCDR/USN/RET passed peacefully in his sleep on 26 March 2013. He was born in Paso Robles, California to Franklin and Caroline (Laws) Sessions. He led an exciting younger life as his father worked on the railroad and Nathan and his family literally lived in a railroad boxcar part of the year. He spent school time with his grandparents in Sutter Creek California and often told stories of catching frogs in their pond and sleeping on the porch when the honeysuckle was in bloom. The family lived in several locations as the railroad moved Frank around. One of his favorites was in Sudden California during WWII when they often lived off whatever Frank could shoot with his trusty rifle and the albacore from the beach. He told of getting candy bars thrown from the soldiers as they passed by on the troop trains. He perfected the pitiful urchin look!!!

The family moved to Oregon after Frank experienced the great fishing on a scouting trip and Nathan went to schools there with his brother Clinton and sister Beth.  Nathan graduated from Cottage Grove High School where he loved football. He was to be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame this May.

Upon graduation he enlisted in the Navy and trained as a Hospital Corpsman, serving in several duty stations with the Maine Corps ( those few good men the Marines refer to are Navy Corpsmen) at Camp Pendleton, Okinawa, and his often related trip to North Borneo. After reaching the rank of Senior Chief he was commissioned as an officer in the Medical Service Corps and shortly thereafter off to Vietnam to run an extremely forward "MILPHAP" hospital. Nathan loved to tell all the stories about how he had to filch supplies from Saigon for his hospital by means that should have landed him in Leavenworth, and we are not talking about the nice vacation spot in eastern Washington. He would tell of driving to Saigon in his trusty amped-up Dodge Power Wagon "Beverly", picking up some poor unsuspecting new soldier, and telling them to put on a helmet, a "flack Jacket" and hold on for dear life as he drove 80 MPH thru the rice paddies. Nathan's theory was that the faster you went the less chance you had of getting hit as you were all ready gone by the time anyone could raise a weapon. Their forward outpost was frequently attacked and he assiduously trained ALL of his personnel, even his medics and nurses, to man the defenses. His best pupil was his pediatrician who became Nathan's best 50 Cal gunner. After being erroneously declared dead a couple of times in the "Stars and Stripes" he informed his parents he was not dead until he informed them so, not to believe anything else. Although he loved telling the amusing side of his exploits, Nathan saw serious combat and earned the Bronze Star for his heroism. To the end of his years he was not a fan of fireworks or explosions. Any such event in the middle of the night would cause him to try to run to his bunker, denting a lot of walls in the house. Fortunately he came home without any serious injuries and his sense of humor intact. His final tours of service were with Naval Hospital Oakland, Bethesda, and finally at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute in Groton Connecticut.

Nathan was married three times in his lifetime, has five living children, Hyrum, Jennifer, Angela, Shannon and Louise, 17 grandchildren and 9 great grand children. Nathan was greatly saddened to lose his sixth child, Belinda, just two years ago. He met Ronda, his third wife, at his final duty station in Groton. While the Navy promised to send both Nathan and Ronda to the same location, they assigned Nathan to Quantico and Ronda to Bremerton.  Nathan decided 25 years of moving around all over the world was quite enough, so he resigned and became his physician/wife's house husband at her new duty station at Bangor. The duo attended the commissioning ceremony for the USS Ohio and then travelled across country to greet the boat on her arrival to the West Coast.

While Ronda was busy as a squadron medical officer and diving medical officer, Nathan was perfecting his Chef skills. He also managed to get both of them signed up as volunteer firefighters when neither of the engines at the station would start. He and Ronda stayed with firefighting for 20 years, Nathan advancing to Battalion Chief, and Ronda gleefully staying a firefighter so she could always drive the trucks, officers had to sit in the right seat and NOT DRIVE, intolerable. When climbing roofs and running into burning buildings was getting a bit too much for old knees, the two became tender operators, just delivering the water to the scene and operating the engines.

Nathan's new adventure in the last few years was Search and Rescue. It all started with Ronda deciding to do search dog work. He became her designated lost person for the dogs. All three of her dogs had "Gnat Finder" as part of their official AKC names because they spent their training years finding Gnat as he is affectionately known in the SAR and Firefighting worlds. When Ronda switched to a local unit, Washington Explorer Search and Rescue, he joined as a support person and has become the highly valued field chef for the unit. It has been his particular delight to feed searchers and SAR deputies all over the state of Washington.

For almost all of his adult life, Nathan also has been very involved with the Boy Scouts of America. He has been a Scout Master for troops all across the country and his last assignment was as assistant scoutmaster to Ronda when she was assigned scoutmaster in February of 2013. One of the most telling awards he has on the wall at home is" Nat Sessions, maker of Eagles and builder of men." He has kept in touch with many of his former scouts. The twin sons of one of his Eagles were just getting old enough to join the troops meeting at Camp Gnat, as his home has long been called.

Nathan was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Seabeck Ward, also formerly of the Silverdale Fourth and Second Wards, all without moving!!! He had served two missions, the latest at the Bremerton Cannery with Ronda.

Nathan loved to fish and go on hunting trips, where he let Ronda do the hunting and worked hard on his culinary skills. He was also famous for his annual Christmas Stories. Not your usual family gram, these were humorous short stories, thinly based on actual events that entertained all who received them and were eagerly anticipated.
Services for Nathan will be held at the LDS building on Old Frontier Road, Silverdale at 1:00 PM 5 April. He will be interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Bremerton at 3:30 PM the same day. A reception will be held back at the Frontier Building at 5 PM. All are welcome to attend any or all of the events, bring your favorite "Gnat Story" to share.

Born Aug. 13, 1938, Dr. William J. Randall, Lewis and Clark College Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, died in his home Thursday, March 14 at the age of 74. Bill graduated from Cottage Grove High School in 1956 and was a graduate of Willamette University, where he majored in chemistry and earned his baccalaureate degree in 1960. He went on to earn his master's (1963) and Ph.D. (1969) at University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. In 1964, Bill joined the Lewis & Clark faculty and served for 43 years before retiring in 2007. He was known as a deeply devoted teacher. Bill was very active in the Portland section of the American Chemical Society. Over the years, he served as chair, treasurer and executive committee member for that organization. Bill was preceded in death by his two older brothers. He is survived by his sister, Ivona Schacker; her husband, Don and nine nieces and nephews. A service for Bill will be held on Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m. in Agnes Flanagan Chapel at Lewis and Clark College.

 Published in The Oregonian on April 11, 2013

Georgena graduated from Cottage Grove Union High School in 1953. She married Curtis Shumate in 1955. They eventually settled in McMinnville, where they ran various small businesses. They were members of Michelbook Country Club for 40-plus years where Georgena was an avid golfer.

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Curtis; two children, Gwyn Hanson of Oregon City, OR, and Craig Shumate of Salem, OR; four grandchildren, Heather, Eric, Cory and Stefani; and a brother and sister. Georgena will be greatly missed by all of her family.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on April 13, 2013, at the Chapel of Macy & Son, McMinnville. A reception will follow the service at 2:00 p.m. at Michelbook Country Club. Memorial contributions may be made to Legacy Hospice in care of Macy & Son. To leave online condolences, please visit www.macyandson.com.

Darrold passed away on the evening of April 5, 2013 due to complications of COPD.

Thomas R. Conn, 79, Topeka, KS, died Wed., Jan. 16, 2013, at Midland Hospice House. He was born Dec. 20, 1933, at Bandon, OR, the only child of Earl M. and Helen R. (Bowman) Conn. He graduated from Cottage Grove Union High School (Oregon) and served in the U.S. Air Force from May, 1955 to Aug., 1964.

In 1995, Tom retired from Kansas Power & Light (Weststar Energy). He was a member of University United Methodist Church, 90th SRW, Sons and Daughters of Oregon Pioneers (life member), Boy Scout Troop 10 of Topeka, Thomas Jefferson Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, Capitol Post # 1 of the American Legion, Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie # 4319 (Past President & former State Officer), Topeka Genealogical Society, and Shawnee County Historical Society.

Tom was married to Kay J. Horton on April 9, 1961, at Kansas Avenue Methodist Church. Surviving are his wife: Kay J. Conn of the home; son: Brian (Amy) Conn of Topeka; daughter: Deborah (Robert) Huckstep of Topeka; 2 granddaughters: Tara Bartley and Kellie Huckstep; 3 step-grandchildren; and 5 step-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held at 10:00 AM, Mon., Jan. 21, 2013, at University United Methodist Church. Interment in Rochester Cemetery. Tom laid in state after 3:00 PM, Sun., at Penwell-Gabel Parker-Price Chapel, 245 NW Independence Ave., Topeka, where the family received friends from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.

Memorial contributions may be made to University United Methodist Church, 1621 SW College Ave., Topeka, KS 66604 or Midland Hospice, 200 SW Frazier Circle, Topeka, KS 66606-2800. To leave a special message for the family online, visit www.PenwellGabelTopeka.com.

Published in Topeka Capital-Journal on January 17, 2013

NOTE:  If Thomas was not a member of the Class of 1952, please let me know which class he belonged to.  My e-mail is rockewarren@comcast.net

Harvey Oran Bennett, 77, of Grants Pass, died Wednesday, July 11th, 2012, at home. A public memorial service was held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 18th, at the Concert Bowl Amphitheater on the campus of Rogue Community College in Grants Pass. Private interment at the Eagle Point National Cemetery. In leu of flowers the family suggests donations to the Rogue Community College Foundation, 3345 Redwood Hwy. Bldg. H, Grants Pass, Oregon 97527.

Dr. Bennett was born on November 20, 1934 in San Diego, California as the only child of Floyd Harvey Bennett and Genevieve Frances (Donovan) Bennett. He spent his early childhood in San Diego, Boston and Norfolk, Virginia while his father served in the United States Navy. Dr. Bennett moved with his parents to his father's hometown of Cottage Grove, Oregon in 1949. He graduated from Cottage Grove High School in 1953. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1953 and was on active duty until1957. Dr. Bennett was awarded Bachelor of Science, Master of Education and Doctors of Philosophy in Education and Geography, University of Oregon in 1961, 1965 and 1972 respectively.

Dr. Bennett had a long career in teaching and administration for public schools, colleges and universities. From 1961 to 1968, he served the public schools of Cottage Grove as a teacher and administrator. From 1968 to 1984, he was a professor and later a dean at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. Dr. Bennett began his tenure at Rogue Community College as a dean in 1984 and was appointed President in 1986. Dr. Bennett retired from Rogue in 1999. He served as Interim President of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon from 2002 to 2004. Dr. Bennett also held teaching positions at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, the University of Oregon, Western Oregon University and Lane Community College in Eugene. He was active in numerous civic and professional organizations such as the Rotary International, as well as being appointed by the Governor to serve on the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Commission.

Dr. Bennett is survived by his wife Natasha. He is also survived by his son Michael Bennett and wife Sivai of Portland, son Shawn Bennett and wife Delia of Albuquerque, New Mexico, daughter Lauri Bennett Ogumoro and husband Jack of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, son Terry Bennett and wife Jennie of Klamath Falls, son David Spronk and wife Michelle of Egan, Minnesota, son John Spronk and wife Rebecca of Newport News, Virginia, daughter Josephine Spronk Ortiz and husband Carlos of San Carlos, California, sister-law Soth Heang, and special nieces, Molly and husband Joe Nhem, and Rina and husband Dat Nguyen, nineteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, a large extended family and loving friends. He was predeceased by his parents and son Brian Bennett.

In retirement, Dr. Bennett was active in the Rogue Community College Foundation and Rotary. He was always a learner as well as teacher and had lifelong interests in automobiles, travel and world cultures. Dr. Bennett's pride and joy was in his family.

Published by the Chapel of the Valley, L.B. Hall Funeral Home in Grants Pass, OR
 

Carole Mae Dysart, age 76, passed away in her home in Arlington Virginia after battling cancer on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. She was born in Los Angeles, California to Frank and Nita McCracken. Carole received her BSN at The University of Oregon, class of 1958. She married in Arlington on May 28, 1960. Carole spent her life caring for others in both her nursing career of thirty-five years and her family life. In addition to being a certified critical care registered nurse, Carole belonged to a number of other nursing organizations and spent a lot of her time teaching other nurses. In 1988 Carole also received her Nurse Paralegal Certificate from Northern Virginia Community College and for the next fifteen years worked as a medical chart reviewer.

Carole was an active member of Dulin United Methodist Church where she was very involved in the craft and women's groups. After retiring in 2003, Carole enjoyed quilting, needlepoint, knitting, and crocheting. Her beautiful works of art touched the lives of many people including family, friends, and members of her church. The care and love that she put into each of her pieces will always be cherished. Carole also enjoyed spending her time with her husband, children, grandchildren, and friends. She was treasured by all and her many words of wisdom will always be remembered with love.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Dennis McCracken. She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Alfred Joseph Dysart, her two sons, James Alfred Dysart and Christopher Allen Dysart, her daughter, Joan Marie Brown, her grandchildren, Jennifer Dysart, Samantha Allen, Andrea Dysart, Erica Brown, Zachary Brown, and her great-grandchildren, Saxon Williams, Ronan Allen, and Luther Fisher. A memorial service will be held at Dulin United Methodist Church in Falls Church, Virginia, on Saturday March 23. Her family would like to thank all friends and neighbors who provided their support, loving care, and graciousness.

Memorial donations may be made in Carole's name to Capital Caring at www.capitalcaring.org.


Published in The Washington Post on March 21, 2013