PERCELLA COLLINS
Percella "Perky" Collins was born Oct. 9, 1942, in Jay, Okla., to Jess and Westine (Tosh) Henegar.
As a young girl, she moved with her family to White Salmon, where she graduated from high school. In White Salmon, she married Paul Collins. They moved to Goldendale, where their three children were born. In the early 1980s, Mrs. Collins moved to Salem, Ore., with the children. She worked as an administrative assistant in the Oregon Employment Division for over 20 years.
Mrs. Collins was vibrant, energetic and fun loving. She loved to cook and enjoyed crafts of all kinds, but her greatest joy was her grandchildren.
She is survived by her mother, Westine Henegar, White Salmon; three children Darci Holmes, Marci Beebe and Matthew Collins, all of Salem; sisters Patsy Cochran, Hood River, Shirlene Chipman, Vancouver, and Mickey Redden, Clearwater, Fla.; and seven grandchildren Kelsey, Molli, Emma, Ryan, Natalie, Casen and Cole.
Private interment was held at City View Cemetery followed by a public memorial service at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2009, at City view Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Ronald McDonald House, 3440 S.W. U.S. Veterans Hospital Road, Portland, Ore. 97239.
DONALD SMITH
Donald Cle "Frog" Smith Jr. died on May 13, 2009 in Toppenish, at the age of 67. He was born June 14, 1941, in Yakima to Annabell and Donald C. Smith Sr.
He was the "boss of the river." He loved to fish. The mouth of the White Salmon was his favorite spot. He loved to talk about fishing and tell fish stories. He also loved to talk about his late uncle Pat Smith.
Mr. Smith loved children and had many friends who loved him and who will miss his friendly smile and hellos.
He is survived by his cousins Kenny Smith, Milwaukie, Ore., Clyde Smith, Ione, Ore., and Edward Smith, Murdock.
WILLIAM NORRIS
William "Bill" George Norris, a resident of Humboldt County since 1946, died at his home on June 6, 2009.
He was born on Jan. 22, 1920, in The Dalles, Ore., and attended grade school in White Salmon. He graduated from Columbia Union High School in White Salmon in 1938. While attending high school, he was active in sports, earning letters, being the quarterback of the football team, point guard for a state championship basketball team, playing baseball and track. One high point of his track season came in 1935 at the county track meet when he placed second as a freshman (and his brother Dick, a senior, placed first) in the pole vault. He attended Washington State University for one semester after graduating high school, but in 1940 he and his brother built a saw mill in Bingen, and with their father, Don, formed the firm of Norris Brothers.
In 1944, Mr. Norris enlisted in the 367th Fighter Group of the 9th Air Force of the European Theater, spending time in both London and Paris. He performed numerous strafing and dive-bomb exercises, engaged in multiple dog fights and flew important escort missions. One of those missions included providing air cover for Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt as they crossed the English Channel on a destroyer on June 14, 1944.
"Willy," as he was known to his air force buddies, flew a P-38 Lightning. It is very fitting that he died on the 65th anniversary of D-Day, as he was one of the fighter pilots involved in the bombing of Normandy in the early dawn of June 6, 1944. His devotion to his country did not stop there, as he later became the Commander for American Legion Post #274 in Arcata, Calif.
When Mr. Norris returned from the war, the Norris family sold the mill in Washington and moved to Arcata, Calif. With another family from White Salmon, the Van De Nor Lumber Company was formed. Van De Nor operated until 1968. The Norris brothers also owned Norris Redwood in Eureka, Calif., that operated into the mid 1970s.
In 1962, Mr. Norris met and married the love of his life Linda Hiebert. They shared 46 wonderful years together and enjoyed numerous summers boating and skiing with the family on Lake Shasta.
He was a true lover of nature and animals. He was kind and a true gentleman who always had a smile and a word of encouragement for anyone he met. He was one of a kind and will be greatly missed by all of his family and friends.
Mr. Norris is survived by his wife, Linda Norris, Bayside, Calif., seven children Richard Norris, Eureka, Calif., Bob Norris, Japan, Michele Lindgren, Blue Lake, Calif., Alice Troyer, Eureka, Calif., Terri Norris, King City, Ore., Linda Bloom, Pleasanton, Calif., and William Don Norris, Seattle; grandchildren Cory Smart, Sara Smart, Erin Smart, Jessica Gleason, Riche Kroll, Jim Grounds, Jadon Troyer, Evan Troyer, Joshua Allan Roth, Lori Ann Roth, Audra Bloom, Georgia Bloom, and Britannia Bloom; and two great-grandchildren Johnny and Charlie Smart.
He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Don S. and Dorothy M. Norris, grandson William Roth, and brother Dick Norris.
A memorial gathering for Mr. Norris was held on Sunday, June 14, 2009, at the Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of Humboldt, Inc., 2010 Myrtle Ave., Eureka, Calif. 95501.
DERALD BARNES
Carson resident Derald Barnes died in Portland on June 8, 2009, at the age of 82.
A full obituary including memorial service information will appear at a later date.
Gardner Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
YOSHIKO LAMOREAUX
Longtime White Salmon resident Yoshiko Sakima Lamoreaux, 76, died in Portland, Ore., on June 13, 2009. She was born in Kamiyama, Okinawa, Japan to Kame (Miyagi) and Ryoichi Sakima on Sept. 1, 1932.
On July 25, 1961, she married Joseph Ray Lamoreaux at the American Embassy in Naha, Okinawa while he was in the service. The family returned to the United States in 1963, living at the Air Force Base in Rantoul, Ill., and later in Bloomington, Ind. In 1969, they settled in White Salmon where they raised their family.
Mrs. Lamoreaux loved working in her yard, especially tending to her flowers. Throughout her life, she was a giving, selfless person.
Surviving Mrs. Lamoreaux are her husband, Joe Lamoreaux, White Salmon; daughter Mitzi Mann, Underwood; sons Ray Lamoreaux, San Jose, Calif., and Ken Lamoreaux, Spokane; sister Chiyoko Miyagi of Okinawa, Japan; four grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by one sister and three brothers.
Gardner Funeral Home handled cremation arrangements.
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