Obituaries
May 19
Elma Emilia Cooper
June 1, 1914- April 19, 2009
Milwaukie resident Elma Emilia Cooper died on April 19, 2009, at age 94.
She was born Elma Emilia Heino on June 1, 1914, in Milwaukie, to parents Kalle and Amalia Heino.
She was raised in the Clatskanie/Kelso area where the Finnish population lived, and graduated from Clatskanie High School.
She was a homemaker and a very caring and giving wife and mother.
She was 100 percent Finnish and very proud of it. She spoke Finnish until she started grade school where she learned to speak English.
She had a huge capacity for love and exemplified all that is good, kind and loving in this world. She was characterized by her unselfish nature as well as her great sense of humor. Her life centered around her husband and daughters and extended grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She loved working in her yard, reading westerns, traveling with her husband and, later in life, while wheelchair bound, she loved having family visit; going for car rides down S.E. River Road to Meldrum Bar. She enjoyed watching reruns of “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke,” and the “Andy Griffith Show,” and also the Cooking Channel, playing Go Fish and cheating at solitaire if she thought no one was looking,
A few years after moving to Portland, she met her husband at one of the many dance halls that were so popular in the WWII era. Elma and Mac loved to dance to Big Band music.
She moved to Portland after graduating from high school. After marriage, the pair made their home in the Mt. Tabor area off of Hawthorne Boulevard for the next 48 years, until her husband’s death in 2002.
She then moved to Clackamas Woods Assisted Living in Milwaukie where she enjoyed the activities and her caregivers. After a decline in health in 2007, she moved to Lidia's Adult Foster care in Milwaukie; Lidia and her adult daughters were like family to her and she thrived on her home cooking, warmth of her family and interacting with Lidia's toddler grandchildren. She lived there until her death.
She is survived by: daughters, Stephani Cooper, Pamela Gulley and Terese Scharback; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren by marriage.
She was preceded in death by: husband, Edward (Mac) G. Cooper; her parents; and brothers, George and Oscar Heino.
A funeral was held on April 24, 2009, at Sunnyside Little Chapel of the Chimes in Happy Valley, with interment at Willamette National Cemetery
Arrangements: Wilhelm's Portland Memorial Funeral Home
Mary Ellen Schneider
Oct. 16, 1930-May 5, 2009
Mary Ellen Schneider died on May 5, 2009, at age 78.
She was born in Platte Centre, Neb., on Oct. 16, 1930, to parents Frederick and Claudine Scheidel.
They moved to Portland in 1942 and she graduated from Franklin High School in 1947.
She worked as a bookkeeper at Northwest Natural Gas Co.
She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Stanley W. Schneider.
As per her request, there will be no memorial or funeral services.
Arrangements: Crown Memorial Center-Milwaukie.
Christal Anne Hammers
June 22, 1955-May 10, 2009
Christal Anne Hammers died on May 10, 2009, at age 53.
She was born Christal Anne Russon on June 22, 1955, in Monrovia, Calif., to parents Melvin and Doris Russon.
She graduated from South Hills High School in Covina, Calif., where she received her FFA certificate.
She had been employed as a lead quality assurance inspector at Artex Aircraft Supplies.
She is survived by: husband, Jesse Robert Hammers; daughter, Jessica R. Hammers; son, Joshua R. Hammers; daughter-in-law, Carolyn Nolin; father, Melvin Russon; sister, Pauline Laurent; and four grandchildren.
In addition to her mother, her sister, Barbara Joyce Shafer, preceded her in death.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on May 24, 2009, at the Oregon City Baptist Church.
Arrangements: Crown Memorial Center-Milwaukie.
Dianne Hill
May 29, 1947 - May 10, 2009
Dianne Hill died on May 10, 2009, as the result of complications that arose following cancer surgery on April 7. Although the surgery was successful, she developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome that caused her lungs to fail. She struggled on life support for six weeks before succumbing to ARDS.
The native Oregonian was 61.
Born on May 29, 1947, in the Forest Grove area, she resided for many years in the Tigard area.
For the last 18 years of her life she was with her constant companion and best friend Dick Franzke. They enjoyed their home on Bull Mountain, traveling in their motor home accompanied by their precious dogs, giving dinner parties for their friends, staging their annual patio party and gardening and canning the harvest, which they loved sharing with their friends.
She had many friends from her long employment in Tigard-area restaurants, including Gaffer’s, Davidson’s, Bergman’s and the Silver Palace.
In addition to Dick Franzke, surviving are her loving daughter, Deanne Tracy of Oregon City; sister, Judith Sheward of Yuma, Ariz.; brothers Russell Sippey of Anchorage, Alaska, and Forrest Sippey and his wife Gail of Nome, Alaska; two granddaughters; one great-grandson; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
A celebration of her life took place on May 16, 2009, at the Silver Palace in Tigard.
Donations in her memory may be made to the ARDS Foundation at www.ardsusa.org, or to the Golden Retriever Rescue organization at www.goldenbondrescue.com
Esther H. Zimmer
March 14, 1919-May 9, 2009
Milwaukie resident Esther H. Zimmer died on May 9, 2009, at age 90.
She was born Esther H. Myhra on March 14, 1919, in Minnesota, and lived in Alkabo, N.D. and Willamette. She was a homemaker.
She is survived by: daughter, Linda Betz; son, Robert Zimmer; brothers, Harold and Earl Myhra; and five grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by: her parents; husband, Erich Zimmer; brothers, Irving, Harvey and Gordon Myhra; sister, Agnes Honey; and granddaughter, Mary Alice Betz.
A service was held on May 15, 2009; interment was at Mountain View Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Zion Lutheran Church Organ Fund.
Arrangements: Holman-Hankins-Bowker & Waud.
Patricio Perez
July 9, 1960-May 10, 2009
Oregon City resident Patricio Perez died on May 10, 2009, at age 48.
He was born on July 9, 1960, in Weslaco, Texas, to parents Ruben and Lydia Perez. He was raised in Los Banos, Calif., where he graduated from high school.
He had been employed as a construction equipment operator. His friends and family were his main focus. He was a team sports fan; favorites included the Denver Broncos and the Blazers.
He is survived by: common law wife, Della Hussey; children, Dominique, Ellery and Peter Hussey; mother, Lydia Perez; sisters, Alice Barton and Belinda Blackwell; brothers, Ruben Perez Jr., and Arthur, Ed and Alejandro Perez; niece, Morgan Perez; and nephews, Anthony Smith, Christian Perez, Raymond Perez, Steven Barton, Zach and Brendon Perez and Joshua and David Rodrigues.
His father preceded him in death.
A service was held on May 13, 2009, in Oregon City.
Arrangements: Holman-Hankins-Bowker & Waud.
Cian Walker-Liddell
April 5, 1961 - May 4, 2009
Cian Wolf Walker-Liddell (formerly Paula S. Walker-Liddell) died at her home in Tualatin on May 4,2009. She was 48 years old.
She was born Paula S. Liddell in Tacoma, Wash., on April 5, 1961. She moved with her family to St. Helens in 1973 and graduated in 1979 from St. Helens High School. She studied at Oregon State University, Southern Oregon State University, Portland State University and Portland Community College, where she earned admission to Phi Theta Kappa.
She worked for 20 years at Portland General Electric, but at heart was a scientist. Her many interests included numismatics, history, fossils, drumming and environmental conservation, but her great passions were for helping animals in need and watching her beloved Green Bay Packers.
Survivors include: her life partner, Jenny Walker-Liddell; son Clay Edwards; parents Paul and Laura Liddell; and sister Laurie Harwood of Oregon City.
A memorial was held on May 16,2009, at the Juanita Pohl Center in Tualatin.
Remembrances in the name of Cian Wolf Walker-Liddell may be sent to the Cat Adoption Team, 14175 S.W. Galbreath Drive, Sherwood, OR 97140.
Arrangements: Alternative Burial and Cremation.
Charles W. Allbritton
Jan. 14, 1919-May 7, 2009
Gladstone resident Charles W. Allbritton died on May 7, 2009, at age 90.
He was born on Jan. 14, 1919, in Sixprong, Wash., to parents Ed and Eunice Allbritton. He graduated from Alderdale High School in Alderdale, Wash., in 1938; after graduation, he worked on the family farm and around the Northwest with his brother’s mobile sheep-shearing crew.
He served with the 25th Infantry (Tropic Lightning) Division in World War II as infantry platoon leader in Guadalcanal, the Northern Solomons and Luzon, spending 47 months and 14 days overseas.
He married Hester Runyan of Dot, Wash., on Oct. 5, 1946, at the Methodist Church in Goldendale, Wash. They were the parents of three children, Mark, Peggy and Ross.
In Goldendale he served as Klickitat County Sheriff, county assessor and postmaster. He worked for the PUD, owned the Coast-to-Coast Hardware Store and was employed by the Grange Supply.
In January of 1965, he moved his family to Gladstone, where he served as assistant manager of the Clackamas County Grange Supply for nearly 20 years. After retirement, he continued to work part time for A-Boy Plumbing and Tru-Value Hardware, finally quitting when he was 82 years old.
His wife passed away in 2000, after 54 years of marriage, and he married Peggy (Rogers) Kuhn, a childhood friend, in 2001, in Milwaukie. He became a “snow bird,” wintering at North Ranch in Congress, Ariz., and summering in Gladstone.
He is survived by: wife, Peggy; daughter, Peggy Wickwire; sons, Mark and Ross; grandchildren, Toby Wickwire, Leanna Matchett, Franci Curtis and Nicole and Karyssa Allbritton; and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by sisters, Cleora Lane, Clara Eltzroth and Delsie Allbritton; and brother, Delmar Allbritton.
At his request, no service will be held. Memorial contributions may be made to Willamette Falls Hospice in Oregon City.