Obituaries for April 14, 2010

Dee Petralia

Dee Petralia, 87, of Baker City died April 8, 2010, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.

Her memorial service will be at 4 p.m. Friday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Burial will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Dee was born on Feb. 27, 1923, at Baker City to Albert and Nettie Morin. As the second of eight children, she played an important role in the family, including assisting in the birth of her youngest brother when she was 14.

The Morin family moved from Baker City to Sandy in 1937 and then relocated to Coos Bay where Dee began working and discovered her flair for fashion, which she demonstrated throughout her life. 

Dee moved to California with her first husband and sons in 1946. Later, she married Charlie Petralia and lived in California for many years before the family returned to Oregon. Dee and Charlie were married for 34 years before his death in 1984.

Dee was well-known for her culinary skills and was a talented seamstress. She was an avid lifelong reader and she loved to dance. Later in life she was able to pursue her great interest and artistic ability through ceramics, doll-making and various arts and crafts.

Survivors include her sons, Glen and Dale Ripper, and their wives, and John Petralia; grandchildren, Travis Ripper and Tracy Johns; her sisters, Lona Crask and Esther Clark; her brother, Ted Morin; two great-grandchildren; 17 nieces and nephews; and numerous friends and other family members who loved her dearly.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Nettie Morin; her son, Larry Ripper; her brothers, Gordon Morin, Warren Morin, Ray Morin and Bert Morin; and her husband, Charlie Petralia.

Norvin Coles

His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Lighthouse Church, 705 Island Ave., in Island City. There will also be a Masonic Ceremony. Friends are invited to join the family for lunch afterward.

Norvin was born on July 13, 1931, at Baker City to Moody “Buster” Coles and Ethel Simonis Coles Follett. He was brought up at Wolf Creek and for sometime in the Portland area while his father was being treated for cancer. Eventually his mother moved the family to Union.

Norvin attended school at Union and was a Union High School graduate. He was active in FFA and was the chapter vice president. He married Eleanor Beck, his high school sweetheart.

He worked hard as a teenager for various employers and in his early 20s he went to work for Union Pacific. He retired after 40 years of service with the railroad.

He had been a member of the Grande Ronde Valley, No. 56, Lodge since 1957, and was a past master. He was also past master and Hiram Award winner of Cove, No. 91. Other Masonic affiliations were York and Scottish Rite, Shriners, Royal Order of Scotland and Eastern Star. He enjoyed his membership with the Cove Sportsman Club and the New Bridge Grange.

Norvin and Eleanor owned homes in Union, La Grande, and moved to Cove where they farmed and lived for the last 40 years. Norvin enjoyed fishing, hunting, mule and horse packing. The couple maintained cabins at Troy and Richland for fishing.

Survivors include his wife, Eleanor L. Coles of Cove; sons Norvin M. “Skip” Coles Jr. of North Powder and James T. Coles of Olathe, Kan.; daughter, Karen B. Haser of Belfair, Wash.; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Willard; infant son, Richard; and stepfather, Lee Follett.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Norvin and Eleanor Coles Scholarship Fund through the Cove Masonic Lodge or to the Shriners Children’s Hospital.

Loveland Funeral Chapel of La Grande is in charge of arrangements.

Glen Petty

 There will be a gathering in his memory at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall, 2005 Valley Ave.

Glen was born on June 28, 1929, to Earnest and Verna Abel Petty of Greenhorn. His mother came to Baker City for his birth.

Earnest was a pocket miner and worked the Red Bird and Ophir mines down on Olive Creek. In the winter, the family moved out of the mountains and rented a house at Prairie City. The family moved to the Willamette Valley when they left the Greenhorns.

Glen loved the mountains surrounding Baker City and Eastern Oregon. Many times he would go prospecting, camping in the mountains with his family and children. Those same mountains called him for hunting with his children. His son, Steve, shot his first deer close to the area where the family and many friends had lived.

In 1943, at the age of 14, Glen joined the Coast Guard/Merchant Marines. He lied about his age to enlist. In 1955 he joined the Army Reserves. He received his G.E.D. from Roosevelt High School at the age of 45, later graduating from Portland Community College in Real Estate Law, and Principles and Practices of Psychology. He worked at sawmills and was a real estate broker.

By his first marriage he had twins, Steve and Sheila. Steve died in 2006 after being injured in a car accident in 2001. Sheila lives in Baker City with her son, Cody.

In 1969 Glen married Dorothy Lou White. Their son, Dennis, was born while they lived at Portland.

Glen earned the name “Lightnin’” from notoriously running the pool table. He belonged to several pool leagues throughout his lifetime, and continued to play pool until he became ill. He was a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Family members expressed their appreciation to Alice Shaw and Garrity Bingham of Heart ‘n’ Home Hospice for everything they did for Glen.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father; his wife, Dorothy; son, Steven Petty; and granddaughter, Kayla Petty.

Survivors include his daughter, Sheila Petty, and her son, Cody; son, Dennis Petty, and his wife, Trish, and daughter, Keisha, and son, Branden Petty; stepson, Gary Warden, and his children, Anthony, Richard, Justin, and Alexis; stepson, Walt Warden, and his wife, Donna; stepdaughter, Vickie Mezo, and her husband, Rick, and their children, Rickie and Gary Mezo; a special sister-in-law, Beulah Roberts; and Dell Francis, many beloved great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law and many friends from Baker and Portland areas.

Memorial contributions may be made to Heart ‘n’ Home Hospice through Coles Tribute Center, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.