|
a.
|
Note: West-Lane News, Veneta, Lane Co., Ore., 1995: Pioneer honoree 'never had time to slow down' ELMIRA--A West-Lane native who's never had time to slow down received the community's Pioneer Award last week. Rose Bown Whitaker said she listened without suspicion as the description was read and didn't catch on till the last few lines. "It just didn't dawn on me," she said modestly. But Whitaker is as deserving a recipient as any. Born 81 years ago just 2 1/2 miles from Elmira, her family was already at least third generation Oregonians. Her Parents Thomas Knox and Emma Florence Bown also raised two sons, John and Alton. Whitaker attended Fir Grove School on Territorial near Demming. Though the school was so small it lacked enough students for two ball teams. Whitaker had as classmates Euleta Allison and Madge Wooley, both of who still live in the area. it was a simple time when, lacking playground equipment, kids made their own fun by playing games in the woods and, one year, building a fort. "We never could figure out the door," she recalled. "Finally we just left one corner open." As the students grew older they put on one program per month, showing off new found skills to parents and friends. Whitaker married Arlo Gates in 1932, and they had two children, Lee and Leora. He died in the early 1940s of a disease Whitaker now suspects was leukemia. In 1946 she married Holley Whitaker, an alumni of Knoll School. though they'd been neighbors, [end of clipping] ______________________________________________________________ Applegate Pioneer Museum, Veneta, Lane Co., Ore., Scrapbook #57, p 16: Register-Guard, Eugene, Lane Co., Ore., July 30, 2004: Rose Whitaker ELMIRA - The funeral will be held Aug. 2 for Rose Leora Whitaker of Elmira, who died July 27 of age-related causes. She was 90. Whitaker was born Feb. 28, 1914, in Elmira to Thomas and Emma Taylor Bown, who were some of the first homesteaders in Elmira. She married Arlo Gates in Elmira in 1932. He died in 1942. She married Holley Whitaker in Elmira on April 6, 1946. He died March 22, 2000. She was a lifetime resident of Elmira and graduated from Elmira High School in 1932. She was a homemaker and worked for J.C. Penney for four years during World War II. She also worked as a secretary for her family's logging and appliance repair businesses. She was a member, and held every officer position, of the Rebekah Lodge 228 in Elmira. She also belonged to the Elmira Grange, where she was once voted Pioneer Woman of the Year. She enjoyed sewing and gardening. She especially enjoyed reading, particularly westerns and science fiction. Survivors include a son, Lee Gates of Crescent City, Calif.; two daughters, Leora Kendall of Blachly and Leta Cagle of Springfield; a brother, Thomas "Alton" Bown of Corvallis; nine grandchildren; and numerous great-grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at Lane Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home in Eugene. Monday's service will be held at 2 p.m., also at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association. ________________________ Social Security Death Index: Name: Rose L. Whitaker SSN: 544-20-1775 Last Residence: 97437 Elmira, Lane, Oregon, United States of America Born: 28 Feb 1914 Died: 27 Jul 2004 State (Year) SSN issued: Oregon (Before 1951 )
|