Obituaries for the day of November 7, 2008

Published 4:34 pm Friday, November 7, 2008

Springer, Larvik, Truax, Reister, Gaertner

LOCAL FUNERALS AND VISITATIONS

Nov. 8 – Ronald Springer, celebration of life, 1 p.m., Odd Fellows/Rebekah’s Lodge, Summerville

Nov. 8 – Chloe Larvik, services, 2 p.m., Loveland Funeral Chapel; burial, Summerville Cemetery

Nov. 10 – Maurice Truax, graveside service, 11 a.m., Island City Cemetery

Nov. 15 – Eunice Reister, memorial service, 11 a.m., Enterprise Congregational Church

William “Bill” Wayne Gaertner, 76, of Union, died peacefully with family at his side Oct. 17 in St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla. A celebration of life was held Oct. 25 at Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory in La Grande. The service was officiated by Pastor Dan Mielke.

Burial was at Island City Cemetery.

Bill was born Aug. 15, 1932, to Emil Paul Gaertner and Mamie Emaline Huffman in La Grande. He worked as a conductor for the Union Pacific Railroad for 36 years.

Bill loved to fish, hunt and hunt for arrowheads. He also loved going metal detecting with his dear friend, Warren. He was a member of the Masons Royal Arch, Council and Commander of Al Kader Shrine, Scottish Rite and a charter member of the Mount Emily Good Sams and Eagles Lodge.

He is survived by his sister, Ella Gulzow; children, Sheryl and her husband Dan Lundrum, Suzanne and her husband Steve Hansen, Rodney L. and his wife Cynthia Gaertner and Monte Gaertner; very dear friend, Shirley Malone; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Bill was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Mary Mae Gaertner; brother, Wayne P. Gaertner; and grandson, Billie Rae Hansen.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Shriners.

Chloe Kay Larvik, 64, of Summerville, died Nov. 5 of cancer.

Funeral services will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Loveland Funeral Chapel in La Grande. Burial will follow at Summerville Cemetery.

Chloe was born July 24, 1944. She was the first of two children born to Earl and Mildred McQuaw.

Her parents were farmers, and she grew up on farms in Oregon. During her elementary years, she lived in Wamic, and she graduated from Boardman High School in 1962.

She attended Pacific University and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in education in 1966. She taught second grade for one year in Hillsboro.

Chloe married Ronald Larvik in 1965. In 1966, they moved to Olympia, Wash., where Chloe worked as an elementary teacher for two years and Ronald was a controller for Georgia Pacific.

Chloe and Ronald have three biological sons: Darin, Cory and Jason. They also took in five foster children who lived with the family for many years.

Chloe and Ronald moved to La Grande in 1978 when they purchased City Garbage Service. They ran the business together for the next 30 years.

Chloe’s lifelong passions were her children and grandchildren, gardening, education, nature and horses. She was a devoted and attentive mother to her children and grandchildren.

She always had a large garden wherever she lived and grew much of her own food. She liked to can and freeze the produce from her garden. She also enjoyed growing colorful flowers.

In addition to teaching in public schools, Chloe was also very active in home-schooling and 4-H. She taught her youngest child entirely at home. She led a horse 4-H group since 2002, which brought her a great deal of joy.

Chloe got her first horse at age 10, which was the start of a lifelong love. She enjoyed training horses, attending clinics put on by other trainers and trail riding on high mountain trails or on the Oregon Coast with her friends. She also spent a lot of time in nature walking and hiking.

She is survived by her husband, Ronald Larvik; three sons and daughters-in-law, Darin and Louise Larvik, Cory and Heather Larvik and Jason and Elizabeth Larvik; sister, Anna Mae Bechtel; and six grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Eunice Munsey Reister, 90, of Enterprise, died Oct. 31 at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. A memorial service will begin at

11 a.m. Nov. 15 at the Enterprise Community Congregational Church. Family members will attend a private burial at Enterprise Cemetery. Bollman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Eunice was born Sept. 8, 1918, the second of six children in Massachusetts. Following high school, she attended Boston University where she met her future husband, John Munsey. At 18, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and had to leave the university for a tuberculosis sanitorium in Rutland, Mass. She stayed there under treatment for seven years. Her disease went into remission when experimental streptomycin was used on her. She was one of 12 trial patients throughout the United States. Eunice probably is the last, or one of the last survivors of TB prior to the discovery of antibiotics.

John Munsey waited for Eunice to recover and they married in 1948. John continued his ministerial studies at Yale University Divinity School, during which he served a Congregational Church in Connecticut and Eunice helped with church programs.

In 1951, Rev. Munsey accepted a pastorate at the Enterprise Community Congregational Church in Enterprise where Eunice was very active in the church programs, especially the youth programs.

After three years, the Munseys worked for two years in Paris with the American Friends Service Committee. Then they returned to the Enterprise Church. Eunice and John adopted two sons, Michael and Steven, who were biological brothers.

After Rev. Munsey was diagnosed with a blood disease in 1962, he accepted a pastorate in Phoenix, Ariz., hoping the warmer weather would help his health. He died there in 1965.

Eunice returned that fall to La Grande to complete her education in English and obtain her teaching certification from Eastern Oregon College. While there, she met John Reister, a faculty member. They married Aug. 27, 1966, in Enterprise.

In 1973, the couple moved to Chico, Calif., to a position with California State University, Chico. Eunice worked as the secretary for the Bidwell Presbyterian Church and later as an administrative assistant to the director of a grant program of the CSU, Chico Foundation. Eunice retired in 1984, when John accepted a position with California State University, Hayward. She was active in the Congregational Church in Chico and in Danville. When John retired from CSU, Hayward, in 1989, they moved to Enterprise.

Eunice is survived by her husband; son, Steven Munsey and his wife, Denise Segor; five grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; two step-great-grandchildren; brother, Frank Marsh of Birmingham, Ala.; sisters-in-law in Rutland, Mass., and Billings, Mont.; and several nieces and nephews and their children. She was preceded in death by her first husband; son, Michael; parents; three brothers; and her sister.

According to Eunice’s wishes, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to any charity.

Ronald F. Springer, 64, of Imbler, died Oct. 31 at his home. A celebration of life begins at

1 p.m. Saturday at the Odd Fellows Hall/Rebekah’s Lodge, 604 Main St. in Summerville. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.

Ron was born Dec. 27, 1943, in Baker. Ron spent most of his time reading or driving his 240Z. He enjoyed fishing, hunting

and flying his radio-controlled airplanes.

Ron also loved to spend time at the Peppermill Casino in Reno, Nev.

Ron served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and earned numerous medals.

Ron is survived by his son, Curtis Coble, his wife, Karen and their three daughters, all of St. Joseph, Mo.; brother, Rick L. Springer of Lebanon; and numerous nieces and nephews in Oregon and Nevada. He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother and a sister.

Maurice Russell Truax, 81, of Nampa, Idaho, and formerly of La Grande, died Nov. 5. A graveside service will begin at 11 a.m. Monday at Island City Cemetery. Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation and Life Celebration Center is in charge of arrangements.

Maurice was born Aug. 25, 1927, to Frank and Charlotte “Lottie” (Russell) Truax in Otter Tail County in Minnesota.

Maurice left Minnesota when he joined the U.S. Navy in 1945. World War II ended while he was in boot camp in San Diego.

He served one year in the Aleutian Islands, relieving men who were stationed there during the war.

He was honorably discharged in 1946. Upon returning to the continental U.S., he ended up in Pendleton, where he started working for Shaeffer Radiator. This was also where he met his wife, Roberta Lee Tibbetts. They married June 12, 1948, in La Grande.

In 1954 he moved his family to Hopkins, Mo., to farm a piece of land with Roberta’s uncle. While living in Hopkins they attended Hopkins Baptist Church, where he was baptized and served as a deacon.

The family returned to La Grande in 1964 and built Valley Radiator. They owned and operated that business for more than 40 years before selling to longtime employee Don (and Nita) Kelly.

Maurice was active in many civic organizations in the La Grande area, including serving as president of Kiwanis for two terms.

In his free time, he was an avid fisherman and also enjoyed hunting.

He is survived by his wife, Roberta of Nampa; children, Rodney Truax of Nampa, Sharon Hardin of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Doug Truax of Peoria, Ariz.; siblings, Charlotte Mickelson of Alexandria, Minn., Laura Barnhart of Deer Creek, Minn., Oliver “Pidge” Truax of Deer Creek, Loma Snell of Centerville, Minn., Norma Durant of Wyoming, Minn., and Allen Truax of Lincoln, Neb.; seven grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Melvin.