Obituaries for June 12, 2009

Betty Jean Myers

Betty Jean Myers, 83, died June 9, 2009, at her home in McMinnville.

Her memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the First Presbyterian Church, 390 N. Second, McMinnville. Arrangements are under the direction of Macy and Son Funeral Directors. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice or the McMinnville School Endowment Fund through Macy and Son Funeral Directors at McMinnville.

Betty Jean Davis, the eldest of five children was born Nov. 4, 1925, at Hot Lake to William Ernest and Vivian Clare McGrath Davis.

She grew up on the ranch owned by her Grandparents, John and Minnie Davis, four miles west of North Powder until 1937 when her parents and grandparents purchased the Sanders ranch.

She attended elementary school at North Powder and graduated as salutatorian from North Powder High School on May 19, 1943. She was active in athletics, Girls League, dramatics, broadcaster and Glee Club all four years in high school.

She was in the orchestra, playing cello and trombone, student body officer, and editor of “The Broadcaster,” Girls League president, librarian and class officer.  Betty attended Oregon State College from 1943 to 1947, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics in June 1947. Betty then taught at Chaffey High School in Ontario and at Bakersfield, Calif., (home economics) in 1947- 1948.

Betty married Kenneth Holly Myers on Aug. 29, 1948, at the First Presbyterian Church in Baker City.

Betty worked as a caseworker for one year in La Grande from 1949 to 1950 and then moved to McMinnville where she and her family made their home. Betty attended summer school to get her master’s degree in education.

Betty substituted several years before returning to teaching in 1967. She taught home economics for half a day and math the other half, working into teaching math full time at McMinnville Junior High School, which later became Patton Middle School when they built two new middle schools. She retired in June 1986.

Betty is the descendant of three early pioneer families in Union and Baker counties, those of her great grandparents, John Samuel and Susan Dealy Davis who homesteaded the family ranch in North Powder in 1872. Patrick and Mary McGrath of Union, and Alfred and Ida Sisley Gardner of Sumpter and Baker. Her grandfather, Walter McGrath, a coal dealer, served as mayor in North Powder for more than 35 years.

Betty will be fondly remembered by her loving family, including her husband of 60 years, Kenneth Holly Myers of McMinnville; daughter, Carol Lynn and her husband,  Roger Hildebrandt, of Dayton; sons, Martin Davis and his wife, Anne Myers, of Lake Oswego, Scott Jerome and his wife, Tamara Myers, of Wilsonville; grandsons, Jason Brian, and his wife, Sue Myers, Casey Scott and his wife, Lesley Myers, Jonathon Hildebrandt Eric Coyote Davis Myers; granddaughters, Kellyi Hildebrandt, Jennifer Nicole Myers and Kaitlyn Jean Myers; two great-grandchildren, Jordan Savana Myers and Jackson Parker Myers; sisters, Jeanette and her husband, Robert Kellar, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Jessie Lou Cox of Spokane, Wash.; and her brother, William Fred and his wife, Marilee Davis of Nampa, Idaho; nieces and nephews, Michelle Ann and her husband, Bruce Vinson, Kimber Lee and her husband, Michael Haley of Las Vegas, Nev., Kelly Beamish of Colorado Springs, Colo., Cathy Sue Peplinski of Spokane, Wash., Lucinda and her husband, Tony Higley, of Spokane, Wash., Jeffrey John Davis of La Grande, and Debra Kay Davis of Ellensburg, Wash.

She was preceded in death by her father, William Ernest Davis, who died in 1965; infant brother, Walter John Davis; a brother-in-law, Edward Lee Cox; and her mother, Vivian Clare McGrath Davis, who died in 2008 at the age of 100.

‘Ken’ Tibbets

Kenneth Edward “Ken” Tibbets, 72, of Rufus, a former longtime Baker City resident, died June 8, 2009, at his home.

At his request, there will be no service.

Ken, known as “Sonny” to his family, was born July 25, 1936, at The Dalles to Kenneth and Luetta Morast Tibbets. He attended The Dalles schools until joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1953.

He served in the Marines from 1953 to 1962 and was a Korean War veteran. He was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Rifle and Pistol Team. He spent the majority of his years working in the construction industry and retired from Oregon Portland Cement in 1981.

Ken was an avid golfer and loved hunting, fishing, working in the garden and his pets. His most recent passion was flying his powered parachute around the Columbia Gorge area. He spent the majority of his adult years living at Baker City. He had lived at Rufus for the past seven years.

Survivors include his wife, Marjorie Hensley Tibbets of Rufus; children, Tammie Lee and her husband, Dana, of Salem, Kenneth Tibbets of Surprise, Ariz., and Vickie Reynolds and husband, Mark, of Lafayette; stepchildren, Tom Gilbert of Baker City, Bob Gilbert of Washougal, Wash., Don Gilbert of Boardman, Steve Haney of Echo and Sandra Vanderpool of Baker City; grandchildren, Justin Crabill, Danielle Lee, Sean Lee and Abigail Tibbets; brothers, Ernest Tibbets and Larry Tibbets; sisters, Mary Pirkey and Joanne Buxton; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Norma Sonnabend, Maxine DeJarnatt and Judy Quint.

The family expressed its gratitude and appreciation to Hospice of the Gorge, Celilo Center for Cancer Care, Evergreen Health Care Center, Dr. Belza of Bend, Dr. Morris and Dr. Fu of The Dalles.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Oregon Humane Society.