Jessie Lavon White West

Jessie Lavon White West passed away on Sunday, January 29, 2012 at Clara’s Care Home in Medford. She was 89 years old.

Jessie, or Lavon as she was called most of her life, was born on October 3, 1922 in Houston, Texas County, Missouri to William C. and Gladys L. White. She had three brothers. She attended local schools there, and on June 1, 1942 married Howard Nelson West. They had two children. In 1947, they moved west to the small lumber town of Heppner, Oregon and on to Grants Pass, Oregon in 1952 to pursue work in the plywood industry. Jessie worked as a bookkeeper for several Grants Pass businesses over the years. On July 18, 1980 her husband passed away after a long battle with heart disease.

She loved to travel abroad with friends and visit relatives scattered about the U.S. and Hawaii. Many summers were spent sightseeing and visiting places of historic interest with her family. She loved to play pinochle with some of her older lady friends but her passion was gardening which came from her early farming life in Missouri. She also enjoyed quilting with her mother on visits back home.

She is survived by a son, Gary West of Grants Pass and a daughter, Sharon Wright of Medford. She has three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and three brothers, Alvin Lea White, Arthur William White and Donald Holt White.

Private family services will be held. Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements and she will be laid to rest at Hillcrest Memorial Park.