Obituaries for Oct. 26, 2009

‘Nibs’ Hinzpeter

‘Nibs’ Hinzpeter

Norbert Otto “Nibs” Hinzpeter, 89, of Baker City, died of a heart attack Oct. 22, 2009, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.

There will be a celebration of his life at 2 p.m. Friday at Community Connection, 2810 Cedar St. Pastor Sally Wiens of the Haines United Methodist Church will officiate. Friends and family are invited to gather for a light meal at Community Connection after the celebration of life service.

Nibs was born on Dec. 7, 1919, at St. Louis, Mo., to William A. and Ida E. Harris Hinzpeter. He lived at St. Louis with his parents, siblings and extended family until he was 15. He enjoyed visiting his relatives on their farms in Illinois, going to the family clubhouse on the Merrimac River to fish and have barbecues with family and friends, and going hunting and fishing with his family. He moved from St. Louis to Southern California with his family during the Depression.

He attended high school at Compton Union High School in California. He left school for a while during the Depression and after serving four years in the U.S. Air Force, from 1942 to 1946, he returned to school and graduated in 1947 as an adult.

During his term in the military, he gained training as an airplane mechanic, earning an Airplane Mechanics Diploma before being honorably discharged with the rank of private first class. He then went to Riverside City College in California for a while, where he took many college courses.

He married Ruth H. Carlson on Feb. 14, 1940, at Brea, Calif. They were faithful companions and worked side by side in everything they did. They were happily married for 59 years.

From age 15 to age 62 he lived in Southern California. He worked at U.S. Porcelain and as an air conditioning technician for Southern California Gas Co., retiring from there in 1978 after 35 years of service.

He loved his jobs and the opportunity to further his knowledge so that he could do his work better.

From age 62 to age 89 Norbert lived in Eastern Oregon. He retired to La Grande in 1978. He lived on Igo Lane on acreage with his wife and daughter for 10 years.

He enjoyed learning to farm and raise animals with the help of his neighbors and friends. He was always grateful to be welcomed and thought of as a friend by people of Eastern Oregon.

From 1989 to 1997, Norbert and his wife lived at Richland where they spent time fishing and boating on Brownlee Reservoir and the Snake River. He and his wife made many good friends at Richland.

Norbert joined the Lions Club while living there. In 1997, he and his wife moved to Baker City to live near their daughter. They spent the rest of their lives in Baker City.

He cherished all of the family and friends he made in Baker City and Haines. They helped make his life very good during his last years, family members said.

He enjoyed fishing and camping with his family at Yellowstone. He also enjoyed vegetable gardening and watching birds and other wild animals and being with his “grand-dogs,” Tootsie and Taffy and his niece’s dog Tucker.

He was a devoted father to his daughter, Susan. She enjoyed his help in learning to ride her bike, as well as the time they spent together farming, gardening, swimming, camping and fishing in Yellowstone, boating and water skiing on Lake Havasu in Arizona and attending school functions.

He always encouraged Susan to get a good education and enabled her to graduate from college and become a teacher. He was always proud of her accomplishments. He was a perfect father, his children said.

Norbert enjoyed spending time with his family and friends at holiday dinners, barbecues, picnics, and duck hunting trips with his brother and brothers-in-law.

He attended the First Presbyterian Church at Baker City, volunteered serving food at Baker City Senior Center with the Trail Tenders and the Presbyterian Church and was a Trail Tender volunteer at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

He also volunteered as a SMART reader for Baker schools. He earned many awards for his volunteer services with the Trail Tenders and the SMART reading program. He also was a member of the Lions Club of Richland and the Rod and Gun Club in Southern California.

“Nibs was one of the best husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles and friends one could ask for,” family members said.

Survivors include his daughter, Susan C. Hinzpeter of Baker City; his nieces, Brenda Bartkus, and her husband, Howard, of Baker City, Cynthia Grogan and her husband, Rick, of Woodland Hills, Calif., and Janette Gialenes of Laguna Woods, Calif.; two sisters-in-law, Velma Carlson of Cortez, Colo., and Mildred Russell and her husband, Jack, of Brea, Calif.; numerous nieces and nephews; and a special daughter, Willora George of Baker City.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Ida; his wife, Ruth, who died in 2000; sisters, Dorothy Dorcheus and Virginia Anners; and a brother, Lester Hinzpeter.

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