Obituaries for May 5, 2010

‘Dee’ McGill

Dolores Alvena “Dee” Van Cleave McGill, 76, of Pilot Rock, a former longtime Baker County resident, died May 1, 2010, at Willowbrook Terrace in Pendleton.

Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Bethel Assembly of God Church in Pendleton. Burial will be at 4 p.m. Saturday at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Visitations will be from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the Pendleton Pioneer Chapel, Folsom-Bishop Funeral Home.

She was born on July 30, 1933, at Baker City to Alva and Rachel Riley Wunder. She grew up at Baker City and was a 1951 Baker High School graduate. She moved to Hereford and then to Alston’s Corner before moving to Bend in 1955. She returned to Hereford in 1980 and then to John Day and Heppner before settling at Pilot Rock.

She married Johnny Joseph Van Cleave at Baker City in 1952. He died in 1987. She married David McGill on Sept. 6, 1997, at Pilot Rock.

She worked for the school district in food service and as a bus driver.

Survivors include her husband, David McGill of Pilot Rock; a son, Tim Van Cleave of Pendleton; a daughter, Jaycee (Janette) Van Cleave of Fresno, Calif.; a brother, Ray Wunder of Nampa, Idaho; and a sister, Linda Wall of Baker City; and six grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her first husband, Johnny Van Cleave.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Bethel Church at Pendleton.

Wayne Skeels

A private family memorial service will be scheduled later.

He was born on Jan. 9, 1932, at Silverton to Claude and Bessie Rossman Skeels Hendrix. At the age of 10, he went to live with his father and grew up at Lobster Valley.

Wayne served in the U.S. Navy from 1951 to 1953 in South Africa and Cuba.

Wayne married Shameron McClure Oct. 23, 1980.

He was a timber faller by trade and worked for a number of logging companies in Eastern Oregon, California and Washington. He also worked as welder maintenance serviceman for various logging companies and as a welder for Commercial Welding.

He retired in 1994. He loved to weld and to make things from horse shoes such as gates, coat racks, tables and pickup tailgates. He helped his friends with odd jobs — anything from building barns, mending fences or plowing snow from his neighbors’ driveways, his family said.

He loved to hunt deer and elk and to spend time in the woods getting firewood or hunting mushrooms. He also enjoyed taking his boat to Waldport and crabbing with his family.

Survivors include his wife, Shameron Skeels of Baker City; his daughter, Cheryl, and her husband, Orville Hopkins of Albany; son, David Skeels of Albany; daughter, Lorrie Skeels; daughter, Wanda Kirtpatrick of California; son, Scott Skeels of Twin Falls, Idaho; and son, John Shukle, and daughter, Brenda Shukle, both of Baker City; sister, Gloria Banford, and her husband, Ernest, of Springfield; 17 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren

He was preceded in death by his parents; his daughter, Dianne Andino; and his brother, Glenn Skeels.

Memorial contributions may be made to Relay for Life (the Purple People Team) or Pathway Hospice through Coles Tribute Center, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.