Fields, Fisher, Olson

Vivian B. Fields

Enterprise

Vivian B. Fields, 78, of Enterprise, died Jan. 3. A service will begin at noon Friday at Assembly of God Church in Wallowa. Bollman Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Leon ‘Bill’ Fisher

Wallowa and La Grande

1927-2011

Leon “Bill” Norman Fisher, 83, of Wallowa and La Grande, died Jan. 1. The funeral will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at St Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Enterprise. Burial will be at Wallowa Cemetery. A reception will follow at the Wallowa Senior Center.

Bill was born July 31, 1927, to Charlie and Hattie (Hansen) Fisher in Wallowa.

Other than serving time in the Navy as a Seabee, he spent his entire life in Wallowa until health issues forced him to move La Grande in 2006.

Bill married Macel Mae Moys on Oct. 3, 1947. They were married for 53 years until Macel died in 2000.

Bill was involved in many public service activities. He served as mayor of Wallowa for several terms and was a city council member. He was a member of the Wallowa school board, Wallowa County Museum board, Friends of the Joseph Branch Railroad and the Tamkaliks Homeland Project.

Bill was a member of the Masonic Lodge, American Legion, VFW and the Rural Letter Carriers Association. He owned and operated Bill’s HiWay Service for 50-plus years, until he became a rural mail carrier, retiring in 2003.

He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, mushrooming, cutting firewood, gardening, reading, listening to music, going to Wildhorse Casino with family members and visiting. Spending time with family was very important to him. He liked spending time with his cat, Bo.

Those who knew him say he was a wonderful storyteller in later years, revealing what a risk-taker and daredevil he had been as a younger person. Those who knew him say his greatest gift was his ability to approach challenges with a positive attitude.

Survivors include his children and their spouses, Patty and Ted Atkinson, Terri and Gayle Hocker and Charles and Mardell Fisher, all of La Grande; 10 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and a niece.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Macel; daughter, Larae Hocker; son, Michael Fisher; his parents; brother Joe Fisher; and sister, Helen Early.

Bertha ‘Bea’ Olson

La Grande

1915-2011

Bertha “Bea” Olson, 95, of La Grande, died Jan. 1. A memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church in La Grande. A private burial will be held at Hillcrest Cemetery. Daniels-Knopp Funeral, Cremation and Life Celebration Center is in charge of arrangements.

Bertha was born Sept. 24, 1915, the middle child of 11, to Conrad and Katherine Elizabeth (Schreiner) Miller in Walla Walla. At an early age, her parents moved to a fruit ranch at Milton-Freewater close to the state line. She spent many summers working at her father’s fruitstand.

On July 3, 1944, she married John Olson in Walla Walla, and they moved to La Grande to make their home. She was nicknamed “Bea” when she first moved to La Grande by a close friend and neighbor.

The couple raised two children, Kay and David. Her husband died on Dec. 15, 1971, after which she went to work at the college in food service. She worked there until her retirement in 1982.

Some of her hobbies were baking, embroidering and raising a garden and flowers.She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church.

Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Kay and David Burt of Albany; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. David and Candy Olson of Gold River, Calif.; brothers, John Miller of Milton-Freewater, George Miller of Richland and Albert Miller of Seattle; two grandchildren; step-son, John Turner; two step-grandsons; and other relatives.

She was preceded in death by brothers, Al, Carl, Herman, William and Jacob, who was killed in the Philippines in World War II; and sisters, Emma, Arnoldt and Kathryn Bade.

Memorial contributions may be made to Zion Lutheran Church Memorial Fund in care of Daniels-Knopp, 1502 Seventh St. in La Grande.

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