Jean Easton

Jean Easton, 91, of Wolf Creek, died Saturday, June 16, 2007 at Fair View Transitional Health Center.

Graveside services will be at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Medford, with Reverend Mike Friesen, her eldest grandson officiating. Memorial services will follow at 2:00 p.m. at Wolf Creek Community Church with Pastor Jim Roberts officiating. All of Jean’s friends and neighbors are invited to attend and share their memories. Hull and Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jean’s name to the Wolf Creek Community Church, P.O. Box 545, Wolf Creek, OR 97497.

She was born on August 30, 1915 in LaGrande, Oregon. She was the first of three daughters born to William Gerulf Fleming and Lillian Mabel Raetz Fleming. She was named Thelma Geneva after her Mother’s piano teacher but she preferred the name “Jean”. She was a fourth generation Oregonian and always spoke proudly of her father’s people crossing the plains in covered wagons before settling in the Willamette Valley area. Jean spent much of her childhood and youth living on a homestead in southeastern Oregon exploring the area with her pony, Midge. That area is now covered with water from the Owyhee dam. She started elementary school in Ontario, Oregon. Before she finished high school there, her parents moved to LaGrande, so it was decided that she live with her Uncle Tom and his wife Florence, so she could graduate from Ontario High School. She always enjoyed meeting her classmates at the many class reunions. She attended nurses training in The Dalles, Oregon. She worked 22 years at Josephine General Hospital in Grants Pass. She also nursed many of the folks in her community and in her home. During World War II, Jean lived in Beaverton, Oregon and worked at the Keiser Swan Island Shipyards as a riveter. It was during this time that she met William Joseph Easton and they were married in Eugene, Oregon on February 28, 1944. In 1946 they moved to Wolf Creek from Beaverton.

She loved children and helped in the Wolf Creek Good News Club. She was also in the Senior Grand Parent Program at Wolf Creek Elementary. She was a member of the Wolf Creek Thimble Club and also was a member of quite a few garden clubs. She attended Wolf Creek Alliance Church and loved corresponding with missionaries.

Jean was a fun lady with a smile for everyone she met. She was also a very industrious person and loved adventure. She was an avid reader and many time would read all night. At the age of 75, she discovered she could paint and won prizes at the fair for her pictures. She was a wonderful mother and friend.

Survivors include her three daughters, Sharon M. Friesen and her husband Ted of Portland; Christine L. McKy and her husband Blaine of Grants Pass; and Dottie J. Frymire and her husband Marvin of Medford; three grandsons and their wives, Mike and Holly Friesen; David and Rebecca Friesen; and Jon and Angela Friesen; and nine great-grandchildren, Tucker, Riley, Tegan, Cooper, Alyssa, Brandon, Christopher, Luke and Ashley.

She was preceded in death by her husband William J. Easton and two sisters, Lucille Case and Marjorie Jones.

We wish to give thanks to everyone who cared for our little Mother and gave her comfort in her senior years. We especially want to thank Dr. Eric Perry for his compassion, understanding and skill toward our little Mother. You all made a difference.