Obituaries for March 31, 2010

William Hudspeth

His funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.

Lincoln Memorial is in charge of arrangements.

Bill was born on Aug. 28, 1929, at Baker to Rachel (Hanby) and Greene Hudspeth.

When his father died in a hunting accident in 1935 at the family-owned Big Minam horse ranch, Bill was taken under the wings of his uncles, Wallace “Spud” and Ernest Hudspeth. He spent summers at the Minam dude ranch through 1943 and winters at the horse ranch two miles outside McEwen in Sumpter Valley.

Bill attended the one-room school house at McEwen. By the time he was in sixth grade he was doing a man’s work on the cattle ranch. He helped with birthing calves and breaking horses. Bill enjoyed bull and saddle bronc riding in the rodeo circuit. His philosophy on life was to “take a deep seat, a long rein, and a faraway look.”

Bill served in the Army in Japan after World War II and was discharged as a private first class in January 1950. He married Patricia Flynn later that year. They moved to Oakland, Calif., where he hired on as a cattleman before starting his career as a machinist, mold maker at Owens, Illinois. Their son, John, was born in 1956.

Bill moved alone to Seattle and worked for Boeing before relocating to the Owens plant in Portland, where he retired in 1994, after 38 years. Bill married Grace Roleson on March 19, 1966, and was a loving husband and father to her four children for 44 years.

Bill was a colorful character, right out of the Old West. His black Stetson hat and cowboy boots were daily attire. He considered himself a hard-riding, hard-living, and hard-working man.

He was a great storyteller. Bill was resourceful and learned by doing. He enjoyed building things and always had a new project in mind. Bill was a man of integrity, believing in fairness and keeping your word.

The loss of his dad was a great sadness to him all his life, and so his family became extremely important. Bill was always generous in a family crisis, but he had strong opinions and didn’t mind sharing them. If he didn’t agree with your choices in life, he worried about you and loved you just the same.

Bill was authentic and independent. He was proud of all his children and grandchildren. Bill was under the care of hospice while battling the effects of heart and kidney failure. 

Survivors include his wife, Grace; his children, John Hudspeth and his wife, Karen, Steve Roleson and his wife, Adria, Deborah Roleson,Wanda Belcourt and Roxanne Kingsbury; grandsons, J.W. and David Hudspeth, Colin McLean and Alex Belcourt; two great-grandchildren; his aunt, Pearl Hanby Waller; stepfather, Richard Daly; sisters, Jean Marrs of Portland, Mary “Babe” Thompson of Pendleton, Sharon Solseng of Stanwood, Wash., and Joyce Pierson of Spokane, Wash.; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his uncles, Wallace and Ernest Hudspeth; and his aunt, Georgia Gardner.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Providence Hospice, Attention: Marilyn Schulte, 6410 N.E. Halsey St., Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213.

Gweneth Rouse

Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at The Redmond Assembly of God Church, 1865 W. Antler Ave. in Redmond. Autumn Funerals of Redmond is in charge of arrangements. There will be a reception for family and friends after the service at the Rouse House, 7150 N.W. Westwood Lane, in Terrebonne.

A memorial service for Gwen will be scheduled later in Baker City.

She was born on July 6, 1939, at Baker City to Amy Heater Arteburn and Royce “Tex” Arteburn.

Gwen was a 1957 Baker High School graduate. She married her high school sweetheart, Bob Rouse, on July 11, 1958. They lived in Eastern Oregon while her husband worked electrical construction.

Gwen and Bob moved to Lake Oswego in 1967, and started Rouse Electric in 1978. Gwen worked as the office manager until they sold the business in 1993, when she and Bob retired.

Gwen and Bob continued to enjoy living in Lake Oswego and visiting their cabin in the Mount Hood area until they moved to the Terrebonne area in Central Oregon in June of 1999.

They enjoyed playing golf year round, summers with family at her family’s homestead cabin on Little Lookout Mountain, winters with friends in Palm Desert and sharing family stories and recipes that were passed down from her grandparents. Gwen enjoyed life to the fullest and will be remembered for her sassy sense of humor and witty expressions.

Survivors include her husband of 51 years, Robert J. Rouse; her sons, Rod Rouse of Terrebonne, and Todd Rouse and his wife, Meagan Rouse of Oregon City; her daughter, Katherine Smith and her husband, Gary Smith, of Vancouver, Wash.; eight grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Gwen was preceded in death by both parents and her sisters, Janet Wright and Lynne Williamson.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Redmond Hospice or Cancer Research.

Marlene Pollard

There will be a family gathering in Marlene’s honor in May.

Marlene was born on June 28, 1932, at Halfway to Vee and Jean Makinson. She spent most of her life in Halfway and spent many years in Alaska.

Survivors include her children, Deanna and Bob Davis of Chuhiak, Alaska, June Miller of Pendleton and Rick and Pam Miller of Halfway; two stepdaughters, Joann and Dan Rowland of Great Falls, Mont., and Guethie Winebarger of Pendleton; her sisters, Bonnie Makinson and Lou Beaudry of Girdwood, Alaska, and Donna and Wayne Buchanan of Burbank, Wash.; 14 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, who all loved her dearly; and numerous other family members.

She was preceded in death by her father, Vee; her mother, Jean; her brother, Freddie; and her husband, Carl.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to the Halfway/Oxbow Ambulance Service through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home,  P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.