Archive for the ‘In Memoriam’ Category

IN MEMORIAM: Winnie Combs Davies

Saturday, July 3rd, 2021

 

Walt and Winnie Davies 2014 Reunion

Winnifred Lee Combs Davies

1925 – 2014

Winnie Davies was born on May 17, 1925 in a log cabin in Arkansas. She died on August 18, 2014 at the age of 89.

She was married to Walter Davies, a great, great, grandson of Henry and Elizabeth Hewitt and great grandson of Matthew Hewitt.

Walt and Winnie Davies and ??

IN MEMORIAM: Catherine Joan (Wollett) Kerr (Kay)

Sunday, June 27th, 2021

Kay Kerr at 2010 Reunion
Wife of Jean Kerr [James Andrew Hewitt]

Catherine Joan (Wollett) Kerr
Jan. 2, 1925 – May 11, 2019
Longtime Lake Oswego and West Linn resident Catherine Joan (Wollett) Kerr passed away May 11, 2019. Services will be at 10:30 a.m., June 8, 2019, at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Lake Oswego. A funeral Mass will be followed by lunch in the church hall.
Catherine, “Kay,” was born Jan. 2, 1925 in Portland, to Frank Cepulo Wollett and Matia (Marzic) Wollett, Croatian immigrants. Her first six years were in a logging camp in Cathlamet, Wash. Kay graduated from Grout Elementary and Franklin H.S. in Portland and attended OSU. She worked in the shipyards during World War II. For 30 years, she worked for the Veterans Hospital, taking time off to have her five children Bruce (Renee), Barbara (Gary), Bryan (Katherine), Bradley and Brent (Shanna). At the VA Mental Hygiene Clinic, she was commended twice for handling dangerous patients – once for disarming a patient with a gun.
Catherine was preceded in death by her husband, Jean Kerr, Jan. 6, 2019. Kay was widowed early in life. Her first husband Ernest “Lucky” Williams blessed her with her first born, Bruce. Catherine is survived by her children (the “five Bs”); 10 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; her sister; and many nieces and nephews.
Kay loved her flowers, garden and the woods on her land in West Linn, which became Robinwood Park. She was Cub Scout den mother and Bluebird leader, drove “taxi” and brought refreshments to all Little League games and was a spirited cheerleader.
Upon retirement, Kay co-founded the West Linn Senior Center; was active with the Lake Oswego Neighborhood Action Coalition; Oswego, West Linn, and Lake Grove garden clubs; Lake Oswego Senior Center computer group; N.W. Scots Guards; and Portland’s Hollywood Senior Center. She loved travel from camping at Neskowin beach to China or Croatia.
Catherine inspired so many, innately with her giving, can-do, interminable spirit and love of living. She was engaged and active to her last day.
Instead of sending flowers, the family suggests bringing a single purple, or other, flower and making donations to Catholic Charities or West Linn, Lake Oswego, or Hollywood Senior Centers. Friends can help with a memorial wildflower garden for Kay at Robinwood Park. Details at: www.AquaHabitat.com/Mom

IN MEMORIAM: Jean Kerr

Sunday, June 27th, 2021

Jean (JM) Kerr – 1924 – 2019

Jean Kerr at 2008 Reunion with Bryan Kerr and Katherine Yagel [James Andrew Hewitt]

Longtime resident of West Linn, Oregon, Jean Milton (JM) Kerr passed away January 6, 2019. We invite you to join us for his Memorial Service from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 6, 2019, at his childhood “homestead,” 5620 High Heaven Road, McMinnville, OR 97128, west of McMinnville. A potluck will start at 10:30, followed by the service at 1:00.
Jean was Henry and Sylva Kerr’s seventh child, and was born July 9, 1924, on Grand Island near Dayton, Oregon. He died of natural causes at the age of 94, the last to pass of eight siblings. He was survived by his wife of 67 years, Catherine; his five children, Bruce, Barbara, Bryan, Bradley and Brent; 10
grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Catherine followed him, passing on May 11, 2019.
Jean was born of a true Oregon pioneer mother and raised on the land his parents homesteaded in 1929 west of McMinnville. He graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland prior to entering the Marine Corps. Like many of his generation, his life was strongly influenced by military service. Jean served in the 1st Marine Division during WWII, and was part of the landing forces on both Peleliu and Okinawa. He fought on Peleliu in 1944 (of the Palau Islands), Okinawa in 1945, and  China in 1946.
Upon returning to civilian life, Jean made his living in the logging and construction industries and evolved to running his own business, JM Kerr Logging and Construction. He met his love, Catherine Wollett; they married in 1952 and raised their family in West Linn.
He was actively involved in community service as West Linn grew, contributing to local schools, participating in politics, leading fundraising for the March of Dimes, Boy Scout Troop 149 West Linn, as a founding member of N.W. Scots Guards, an active member in the VFW post in Lake Oswego, and Lions, and educating grade school and high school students about his WWII experience through Living History programs. He was constant in his commitment to neighbors and family in time of need, one example being the 1962 Columbus Day Storm.
He is missed.