Obituaries: Steven Berry, Hobart Seal,

Steven Berry

Steven D. Berry, 30, of Tucson, Ariz., a former Baker City resident, died of heart failure on Oct. 22, 2006, at Tucson.

A private service will be scheduled later.

Steven was born on July 16, 1976, at Fort Carson, Colo., to Daniel and Sherry Brown Martin. He moved to Springfield at a young age and then to Yamhill where he attended Yamhill Carlton High School.

He moved to Baker City in 1991. While in Baker City, he worked for Pizza Hut. In 2005, he moved to Tucson, Ariz. He loved music, playing the guitar and the keyboard and singing.

"He loved spending time with his many friends in Baker City," his family said.

Survivors include his mother, Sherry Martin of Yamhill; his father, Daniel Martin of Yamhill; and grandparents living at Sisters, Baker City and Yamhill.

Hobart Seal

Everett Hobart Seal, 85, of Halfway passed away Oct. 20, 2006, at his home surrounded by his family.

A funeral service will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at the Baptist Church in Halfway. Graveside services will follow at Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception following the service at the V.F.W. Hall.

Hobart was born May 6, 1921 in Mansfield, Mo., to Andy and Francis Seal, who lived and farmed in the Mansfield area. He had 15 brothers and sisters.

Hobart married Mary Ellen Farris Jan. 14, 1939, in Ava, Mo. He was drafted into the U.S. Army on Aug. 2, 1944, and served our country in World War II as a heavy mortar crewman under General George S. Patton's Third Army, 80th Infantry Blue Ridge, Blood & Guts Division. His tour took him to many locations including France, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria. He was wounded in action while serving in France and received a Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged on Jan. 4, 1946.

Hobart and Ellen had three children and traveled across the country in search of work. They moved to Baker County in 1946 and to Halfway in 1952 where he was employed by Stilwell Lumber Company. Hobart worked in the lumber and timber industry, worked on both Oxbow and Hells Canyon dams and retired from the Baker County Road Department in 1983.

Hobart worked hard in everything he did and particularly enjoyed hunting, farming, his horses, McBride campground, baseball, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Ellen Seal; son, Norman and Teena Seal of Ontario; daughter, Linda Blank of Caldwell, Idaho; son, Richard and Merrilyn Seal of Halfway; brother, Virgil Seal; sister, Ruby Landsdown; sister, Pearl Farris; 11 grandchildren, Cindy Wells, Terra Patton, Stacy Seal, Dan Smith, Kathy Stirm, Jim Smith, Travis Blank, Tracy Gabbard, Mari Moody, Bobby Seal and Teena Thomas; 29 great- and great-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Andy and Francis Seal; and 12 brothers and sisters.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to Halfway Little League through Tami's Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.