Obituaries for December 13, 2013

Frank, Johnson, Hills, Houck

Michael Frank

La Grande

Michael Frank, 62, La Grande, died Thursday at Grande Ronde Hospital. A full obituary will be published later. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory will be handling the arrangements.

Jerry Johnson

La Grande

Jerry Johnson, 80, of

La Grande, died Friday at his residence. A full obituary will be published later. Loveland Funeral Chapel and Crematory will be handling the

arrangements.

LeRoy Arthur ‘Roy’ Hills

Island City

1923-2013

LeRoy Arthur “Roy” Hills, 90, died Dec. 9 at his home in Island City. A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. today at the Summerville Baptist Church.

Roy was born in Blackwell, Okla., on Feb. 28, 1923. He was raised by adoptive parents, Willie and Mary Aswell in San Antonio, Texas. He enlisted in the Army in 1937 and went on to officers candidate school in 1943. He served in India, Burma and China and was honorably discharged at the rank of captain in 1946.

He met and married DeLeva Hug in January of 1944 while he was stationed at Pendleton Air Field in Pendleton. After the war, they settled in Summerville. Roy worked for many years at Mt. Emily Lumber Mill in

La Grande while working the family farm in Summerville.

The family moved to Chicago in 1959 for Roy to attend Moody Bible Institute. They returned to Union County in 1971.

He worked for the Boise Cascade Particle Board Plant until retirement in 1985. He and DeLeva enjoyed being campground hosts throughout the states for several years. He best liked the job as host at Bonneville Dam.

He began serving as pastor at the Union Baptist Church in 1994 and served until his health declined. Roy loved his Lord Jesus and served him most of his adult life.

He had great love for his wife of almost 70 years and his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Although he was raised a city boy, he loved hunting and fishing in Eastern Oregon.

He was a musician, playing his guitar and singing. He was a songwriter, writing words and music to many gospel songs.

He played with his son, Ron, and Jan Kelly on the piano for many years at the Grande Ronde Retirement Residence.

Survivors include his wife, DeLeva Hills of Island City; son and his wife, Ron and Marla Hills of Summerville; daughter, Tanja Gorham of Island City; 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild and other relatives.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a son, Howard Hills.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or the Grande Ronde Hospital Hospice.

To view the unedited

obituary and sign the

online guestbook, visit

www.danielsknopp.com.

Helen Houck

Formerly of Zumwalt

1920-2013

Helen Houck, 92, a resident of Dallas, Ore., died on Dec. 8 in Dallas.

She was born on Dec. 12, 1920, in Ontario, the daughter of Harry and Nealia McCarty.

Helen graduated from high school and went on to attend Eastern Oregon College and earned her teaching certificate. Helen taught elementary school in Vale.

Helen married Eugene “Bud” Houck on Sept. 22, 1946, in Ontario at the home of her parents.

In 2008, they celebrated 63 years together.

Helen and Bud lived in Zumwalt, out of Enterprise on a ranch for the first 10 years of their marriage. When they sold the ranch, they moved to Dallas in 1956. Helen was a teacher at Falls City, Dallas and Airlie schools.

Helen was a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Dallas. She enjoyed taking care of her family. Helen was an avid reader. Her hobbies included toll painting, decoupage, painting and picking huckleberries. She also enjoyed traveling to the southern states and camping trips to the coast.

Helen is survived by her sons, Eugene Houck III (Sharon) of Falls City and Clifford Houck (Jan) of Newport; sisters, Jean Cook of Enterprise and Irma Fields of Boise, and a grandson. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bud Houck, and daughter, Ann Reine.

Visitation was on Thursday at Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center. Visitation will also take place from 9 a.m. to

11 a.m. Monday at Bollman Funeral Home in Enterprise. Burial will be in Enterprise Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Care Of The Northwest in care of Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center. To leave an online condolence for the family, go to www.dallastribute.com.