Obituaries for Feb. 1, 2010

Ida North

Ida Mae North, 81, died Jan. 23, 2010, at the Life Care Center of McMinnville in McMinnville where she moved after a massive stroke in 2008.

There will be a private family memorial service on Aug. 14, 2010, on the Oregon Coast.

Ida was born on June 7, 1928, at Marshall, Mo., to William and May Wallace. She was raised and educated at Marshall where she met and later married Buster North. They had two children while living in Missouri.

When the boys were young they moved to Washington to be closer to a sister and to find work, settling in the Portland area. Ida helped her husband run a service station and later a drive-in theater.

She spent many years as a caregiver and also worked in direct sales for Avon, Tri-Chem and Tupperware. Ida loved to shop, play bingo and do crafts.

She was preceded in death by a son, Wayne North; and three sisters.

Survivors include a son, Donald North, and his wife, Judy, of Richland; five grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; two brothers,William Wallace and Larry Wallace, both of Missouri; and several nieces and nephews.

Her family expressed appreciation to the caregivers at Life Center of McMinnville for the loving and helpful care they provided to Ida.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.

Bernard Fitze

Bernard Fitze, 88, of Medford, a former Sumpter resident, died Jan. 17, 2010, at Medford.

A memorial service will be scheduled later in the spring at the National Cemetery in Eagle Point.

Mr. Fitze was born on Feb. 13, 1921, to James and Ellyn Fitze. During his youth near Bakersfield, Calif., he raised and showed prize-winning hogs. Show sites included the World’s Fair at San Francisco in 1939, the year he graduated from Kern County Union High School at Bakersfield.

He attended college veterinary classes and worked in the oil fields until the start of World War II. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater from March 1942 until he was discharged as a gunner’s mate second class in December 1946. In 1949, he moved to northern California where he built a home and farm and raised a family with his wife, Grace.

He retired from the State of California and moved to Monument in 1971 to fulfill his dream of ranching. In later years, he built more shops and barns, enjoyed hunting and fishing, tending his horses and mules, taking them on pack trips, handcrafting knives and working on small welding project.

He lived near Sumpter from 1995 until 2005 when he moved to the Medford area to be near his daughter. He was preparing to return to Eastern Oregon later this spring.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Leonard Fitze; and a daughter, Elaine Loehr.

Survivors include his daughters, Deena Clark of Haines and Carolyn Valle of Grass Valley, Calif.; son-in-law, Paul Loehr of Medford; seven grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.