IRVIN JOHNSON
Irvin D. Johnson was born in Fort Bragg, Calif., on April 2, 1909, to Albert and Ethel Johnson. He died Oct. 17, 2005.
The family soon moved to Portland where they lived until moving to Lyle, where they established the family farm.
Mr. Johnson developed his lifelong habits of working hard and living frugally. In addition to his responsibilities at home, he attended and graduated from high school. Later, he attended the School of Pharmacy at Washington State College, graduating in 1932 as a pharmaceutical chemist, returning to complete his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1936.
About that time he finally proposed to Myrtle Johnson, who had also grown up in Lyle. Mr. Johnson's earliest job as a pharmacist was in Missoula, Mont., where he and his young wife moved. Later, he bought and ran his first store in College Place. The family moved to Seattle, where Mr. Johnson eventually owned a small chain of three Rexall drugstores. By 1949 Irvin had grown weary of a busy city life that sometimes was very stressful. He decided to move back to Lyle and build a home near his parents. Not only did he help with the family farm, but he bought some registered Hereford breeding stock and had a go at cattle raising. He encouraged his daughter to join 4-H, and they both showed Herefords at the Klickitat County fair, bringing home some blue and purple ribbons.
In 1952, Mr. Johnson joined his brother, Syd, in a Shell Oil business in Bingen. From Bingen, he became the Shell Oil Jobber in Hood River, Ore., the family moving to Hood River in 1955. In Hood River, he also diversified his business into service stations, a wholesale/retail tire outlet, and finally a restaurant.
In 1970, Myrtle died. A couple years later, Mr. Johnson married Martha Gross of White Salmon, and shared some good years until her death ten years later. He then remarried to Letha Fleck of Scappose. Their marriage ended in divorce.
Mr. Johnson didn't stop working after he retired. He loved working in his garden, taking pride in his flowers, fruit, and vegetables; and true to his upbringing, he canned much of his own produce well into his eighties. His favorite project, however, was building a stone wall around one perimeter of his garden.
When Mr. Johnson was 88, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of visiting Australia. For three months he traveled around both New Zealand and Australia, sometimes staying in Youth Hostels.
A memorial service for Mr. Johnson was held in Hood River at the Asbury United Methodist Church, 616 State Street, on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005, at 3 p.m.
PAT MARX
Pat Marx was born in Kranzburg, S.D. on March 17, 1909, to Peter and Lena Marx, the eighth of nine siblings.
The family lived and worked on a farm in Kranzburg until 1923 when they moved to Watertown, S.D.
In 1925, Mr. Marx hired on with a harvest crew in South Dakota and worked with the crew to Calgary, Canada. Times being rough in South Dakota during the 20s and 30s, he headed to Montana where he worked on a small fish ranch.
During these hard times, Pat learned to do many things, one being the art of shearing sheep which he did until he was 82 years old when he retired his equipment.
Washington was where Mr. Marx met and married Janet, his wife of 64 years. They married on Sept. 26, 1941. He worked from 1941 to 1952 on a grain and pea ranch in Walla Walla. In 1952, the family moved to High Prairie. In 1974, Mr. and Mrs. Marx moved to White Salmon, where they spent their retirement years.
Retirement found Mr. Marx with time to catch up on reading western books and time to spend tinkering in his shop making things out of iron, rock, wood, or whatever he could find, for family and friends. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing throughout his life, especially the time spent with his sons and grandsons in the outdoors.
Survivors include children Walter VanDecar, Junction City, Ore., Alma Day, Pilot Rock, Ore, Andrew, White Salmon, James ( deceased), Ronald, Lyle, Susan, Condon, Ore., Jeanne Gross, White Salmon, and Jerry, Hyder, Alaska; and numerous grandchildren along with many great grandchildren and even a great-great grandchild.
A memorial graveside service will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005, at 1 p.m. at the Lone Pine Cemetery in High Prairie.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Gorge in care of Gardner Funeral Home, who handled cremation arrangements.
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