Obituaries for March 13, 2009

Interment will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the North Powder Cemetery. Her memorial service will begin at 11:30 a.m., Saturday at the Baker City Christian Church, 675 Highway 7. Pastor Roger Scovil of the church will officiate. There will be a reception afterward in the Garden Room of the Baker City Christian Church.

Mrs. Swanson was born April 6, 1911, at Tuxedo, Md., to George W. and Jessica McCabe Swanson. She moved to Oregon with her parents and five of her siblings in 1917. After living at Lexington for a short time, the family moved to Hood River. Ruth attended school there and met the love of her life, Charles Royal Swanson.

They were married in 1930 at Hood River. Royal and Ruth had an interesting and colorful life working together in logging camps, construction sites and ranches throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

Ruth was especially fond of the time she and Royal spent working on a purebred Charolais ranch at Molalla. They later returned to Eastern Oregon and enjoyed living at and helping with their daughter and son-in-law’s ranch for almost 30 years.

Ruth and Royal were active volunteers at the La Grande Senior Center and the Baker City Christian Church.

Ruth was a sports fan. She especially enjoyed baseball, having had three brothers who played semi-pro ball. She also enjoyed playing the piano, doing needlework and tending plants and challenging Royal to a game of Yahtzee or cribbage.

Ruth loved making a comfortable home and cooking for any family members or friends who came to her door. Her family was the most important part of her life along with her faith in God, family members said.

Survivors include her son, George, and his wife, Belva, of Turner; her daughter, Jessie Dodson, and her husband, Don, of North Powder; eight grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren; and numerous great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Royal Swanson; and a son, James Swanson.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Baker City Christian Church through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.