Obituaries - July 23

Friends are invited to a Remembrance Reception from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, at Anderson’s Tribute Center. A special Tribute to Frank will be held between 2 and 2:30 p.m.

Frank Lariza was born Feb. 24, 1928, in Eastport, Md., to Castro and Minnie Lariza. He graduated from South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, Wash., in 1945 and then joined the U.S. Air Force in 1946. He served three years in military service. Frank attended Olympic College in Bremerton, Wash., for two years then transferred to the University of Washington for two years where he played football with the Washington Huskies; he then transferred to Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., where he received a BS degree in education.

He first taught 7-8 grades in Darrington, Wash. In June 1955 he and Lee Harvey were married. They moved to Bellingham, where Frank taught and coached at Bellingham High School.

In Bellingham their son Michael was born. Frank decided to go back to school for graduate studies. They moved to Eugene, Ore., where Frank attended classes and received a Masters in Education and ultimately a doctors degree in education in 1964.

They moved to Junction City, Ore., where Frank was high school principal and their second son, Don, was born in 1965. They moved to Medford, Ore., where Frank was Assistant Superintendent in charge of curriculum.

In 1969 he came to Hood River as Superintendent of Hood River County Schools. He retired 17 years later in 1986.

Frank loved all kinds of sports. He was a snow skier, (served with the Ski Patrol for several years) water skier, always had boats and enjoyed hunting elk, deer and especially ducks.

During his years as Superintendent of the Hood River County School District he purchased orchard property on the Eastside of Hood River in the Pine Grove area. He became an active farmer on nights, weekends, summers, vacations, etc.

He is survived by his wife, Lee Lariza, of Hood River; sons Michael and his wife, Carla, of Boring, Ore., and Don and his wife, Kris, of Hood River. Five grandchildren also survive.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Gorge c/o Anderson’s Tribute Center, 1401 Belmont, Hood River, OR 97031.

Connie Lindley

Connie Lindley, a Hood River, Ore., resident, died July 16, 2003, at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital. She was 84 years of age.

Graveside services will be Aug. 1, 6:30 p.m., at Idlewild Cemetery in Hood River.

Connie was born Sept. 5, 1918, in Durant, Okla., to Edward and Effie (Green) Patton and was raised and educated in Durant. Throughout her life she had lived in Oklahoma, Texas and California. In the 1980s she moved from Ventura, Calif., to Hood River, Ore. She had worked as a cashier in a variety store and also as a waitress. Connie enjoyed music, dancing, reading, gardening, sewing and going to garage sales.

She died peacefully in the loving arms of her two best friends, who had been her caregivers for many years.

She is survived by her daughter, Cathy Beaty Murphy of Burien, Wash.; brothers Dennis and his wife Marjie Patton of Bakersfield, Calif., Fred Patton and his wife Grace of Chandler, Okla., and Louie Patton and his wife Ruth of Eugene, Ore.; sisters Cora Gambel of Burlingame, Calif.; Ruth Collier of Redding, Calif., and Glena Allen of California. Her daughter-in-law Chris Burgess, several grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild and many nieces and nephews also survive.

She was preceded in death by her sons Monty Beaty and Bill Burgess.

Arrangements by Anderson’s Tribute Center, 1401 Belmont Hood River, OR 97031

Jeannette Briggs

Jeannette Scott Briggs was born April 7, 1913 in Zena, Ore., to Ralph and Isabella Scott. She died July 4, 2003, at age 90 in Lacey, Wash. She attended Zena and Salem, Oregon public schools. Willamette University granted her a BA in music (violin) in 1937, and the University of Southern California a master of music degree in 1942. Over the period 1937 to 1947, she taught in several Oregon and California public schools with successively more emphasis on teaching stringed instrument performance, her real love.

In 1947 she accepted an offer to become assistant to Boris Sirpo, a prominent Portland, Ore., violinist and teacher at his music school in Hood River, Ore., where enthusiastic community support had justified his starting an orchestra and promoting other musical events as well. She held this position as teacher and associate conductor from 1947-1956.

In 1956-57 she taught music in the Bend school system and then moved to Salem where she taught privately and at the Western Oregon School of Education in Monmouth, and played in the Salem Symphony, usually as concertmistress.

After becoming aware from publications and workshops in 1963 of the remarkable success of the Suzuki system being used to teach stringed instruments to very young students in Japan, she spent seven weeks in Japan in the summer of 1964 observing Suzuki teachers and spent time with Dr. Suzuki himself. She then started using the Suzuki method and materials for starting young beginners, and was one of the earliest American teachers to adopt this method.

In 1965 she returned to public school teaching in Beaverton, Ore., but she also taught privately and is said to have been the first Suzuki violin teacher in the Portland area.

In 1968 she moved to the Pendleton, Ore., school system where there was an established Suzuki program, and then in 1972 to Bellingham, Wash., to be a private teacher for a group of parents who had organized to provide Suzuki lessons for their children. In the summer of 1975, she retired and returned to Salem.

In January 1976, she married Ben T. Briggs and moved to Shelton, Wash., where she had private students, played chamber music with friends, was active in community musical affairs, played in the Olympia Symphony and traveled. In 1988 the Briggses moved to Panorama City, a retirement community in Lacey. Jeannette’s musical life continued with little change until she became legally blind in December 1993 and put her instrument aside. She often said how fortunate she was to have been able to earn a living by means of her principal hobby, teaching youngsters to play.

Survivors include her husband Ben; her brother and sister-in-law Don and Polly Scott, McMinnville, Ore.; her brother-in-law Bill Zentner, Eugene, Ore.; stepson Scott of Ridgefield,Wash., and stepdaughter Nancy Wehr of Bethesda, Md., nephews Sid Scott, Naperville, Ill.; Cal Scott, Tigard, Ore.; Mark Zentner, Eugene; and nieces Ann Scott, Tigard, and Irene Zentner, Corbett, Ore.; and eight great nieces and nephews.

The memorial service is scheduled for Sunday, July 20, at 2 p.m,. at the Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Zena. The church is located northwest of Salem at approximately 4880 Brush College Road NW.

For further information or directions to the church, please contact Reverend Ruth Gray at 386-2414.

Clifford Jones

Clifford Gerald Jones of Lyle, Wash., died at his home on July 13, 2003. He was 59 years of age.

Clifford was born on July 8, 1944, in Elk City, Okla., the only son of Clifford (Bill) Jones and Claudia White Jones. In 1948 he moved with his family to White Salmon, where he graduated from Columbia High School in 1962. He attended Western Business College in Portland in 1964-5 where he successfully completed a course in computer programming. He enlisted in the Oregon Army National Guard in 1965 and was honorably discharged in 1971.

On July 11, 1971, he married Marie Jones in Stevenson, Wash. He was employed as an auto mechanic at Ray’s Auto in Bingen for 25 years before transferring to Northwest Auto (NAPA) in Hood River where he worked as a machinist until his health failed. He served as a volunteer fireman with Bingen Fire Department for a number of years.

Clifford unselfishly gave of his time and expertise in repairing cars, small engines, etc., for anyone who asked him for help, often ignoring his own needs. He enjoyed fishing, hunting and cooking. He dearly loved his family and never missed an opportunity to let them know it.

Survivors include his wife, Lisa Jones of White Salmon; children, Shane Jones of Goldendale, Tina Jones of Lyle, and Corinne Kary of Troutdale; eight grandchildren; five sisters, Virginia Hall of Beaverton, Ore., Lorene Forney of Walla Walla, Wash., Nancy Brown and Voncille Armstrong, both of White Salmon, and Ellen Hansen of Centerville, Wash.; and a number of nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant son, Steven Edward.

Cremation has taken place and a memorial service was held July 18 at Gardner Funeral Home in White Salmon. The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society for lung cancer research.

Brianna Mathis

Brianna Jean Mathis, of Redmond, Ore., died July 19, 2003, at the age of 12 weeks, of sudden infant death syndrome.

Brianna was born April 22, 2003, in Redmond, to Shane and Lisa (Storm) Mathis. She always loved to be held.

Survivors include her parents; a brother, Christopher Glen Mathis, 2; two sisters, Caitlin M. Schaefer, 12, and Stephanie R. Mathis, 9; grandparents Barb and Doc Mathis of Hermiston and Bill and Jackie Storm of Redmond; great-grandparents Lee and John Stewart of Redmond and Mary and Maynard Ward of Hood River; and great-great-grandmother Nadine Mathis of Hood River.

Visitation will be from noon to 1 p.m. on July 23 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 450 S.W. Rimrock, Redmond, with a memorial service beginning at 1 p.m. Arrangements are being handled by Autumn Funerals.