Home News Obituaries Obituaries for March 10, 2009

Obituaries for March 10, 2009

Written by Baker City Herald March 10, 2009 03:19 am

Don Kelley, Marjorie Alexander ‘Don’ Kelley

Donald Paul “Don” Kelley, 52, of Baker City, died March 8, 2009, at his home.

At his request, there will be no service. Cremation was by Eastern Oregon Pioneer Crematory, Baker City.

Don was born on July 4, 1956, at Silverton to Roy Joseph and Esther Mary King Kelley.

He owned and operated a sandwich shop in the 1970s. He also owned and operated Don’s Second Hand Store at Molalla. In 2001, Don and his wife, Sandy, moved to Baker City where he worked at Bi-Mart, the Sunridge and Paradise Truck Wash.

Don was a loving husband, stepfather, brother and friend.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Esther Kelley.

Survivors include his wife, Sandy Kelley of Baker City; brothers, Joe Kelley of Estacada and Gordon Kelley of Colton; stepdaughter, Chavon Austin of Baker City; stepson, Cliff Austin of Tigard; and four grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Heart ’n’ Home Hospice & Palliative Care through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.

Marjorie Alexander

Marjorie D. Alexander, 81, a longtime Baker City resident, died March 5, 2009, in Vancouver, Wash.
A memorial service is planned for July.
Marjorie was born May 10, 1927, to Ben and Hazel Fulton Cox in Pendleton. She had an older brother named Thomas.
By the time Marjorie was in third grade, her family moved to Kamela near La Grande where her mother operated a gas and grocery store. The family lived in Haines two years later where her father worked at Anthony Lakes constructing some of the original buildings there in the late 1930s.
Marjorie graduated from Haines School in 1945. She married Wayne Alexander in December 1947 and in the years that followed she worked at Crown Cleaners, raised and canned vegetables, grew flowers, kept an immaculate house, and cared for a Boxer named “Sparky.”
Wayne and Marjorie longed for a child and were immeasurably blessed when Sharon came in to their lives in November 1962. Marjorie went home to be a mom and between them they showered baby Sharon with adoration and unending love. She became the joy of their lives.
In 1968, they bought the Western Motel and operated it for seven years. Eventually, Marjorie became Grandma to Sharon’s daughter Danielle and her devotion to her girls occupied much of her time.
Marjorie was also an intricate part of extended family, close to her cousin, Sharlene, and cherished by Wayne’s large family. Her easy laugh and quick wit endeared her to one and all. She had a wonderful spirit and could be sassy when teased.
After Wayne’s death in 1991, she took up crocheting and made beautiful handcrafts. Friends and family enjoyed adding to her extensive chicken collection. She was always a marvelous cook.
In the past two years she made many friends among the staff and the residents in the nursing home where she lived. They adored her and gave her great care and love.
Her tenacious spirit and love of life remained to the end, and she will be forever missed by all those who loved her, her family said.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 44 years, Wayne Alexander, her parents, and her brother Thomas.
Survivors include her daughter Sharon and her husband, Jon Wilson and her granddaughter Danielle Fisher all of Vancouver, Wash.; her cousin, Sharlene Gray of La Grande; sisters-in-law Lois Guilliot of SeaTac, Wash., Mildred Peterson and Lorraine Valentine and her husband, Darel of Baker City, Bernadine Nichols and her husband, Tom of Sweet Home, and Fern Beck of Portland; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Kidney Foundation through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.

FUNERAL PENDING
Friday, March 13
Larry Blum: Memorial service, 2 p.m., Community Connection, 2810 Cedar St. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception afterward at Community Connection. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice though Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.