Alicel, Oregon
Marinus Jacob “Rien” de Lint, 66, of Alicel, died April 11 at the Grande Ronde Hospital. A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the First Christian Church, 901 Penn Ave. in La Grande. Committal and interment will follow at the Summerville Cemetery.
Rien was born Sept. 9, 1940, in Zevenbergschen Hoek, the Netherlands to Arie and Christina C. (Van de Erve) de Lint. In 1959 he came to the United States as an exchange student with the University of California-Davis and he participated in a work exchange on farms in California. When he returned to the Netherlands he attended university and earned a degree in agriculture in 1964. He returned to California where he worked at Squaw Valley’s Olympic Village as a maitre’d in a restaurant and taught ice skating, and where he met his future wife, Cresta May Shaw.
In 1965 he returned to the Netherlands for a year and farmed grass seed before returning to the United States. On May 20, 1967, he married Cresta May Shaw and they made their home in Alicel.
He farmed with his father-in-law, Creston Shaw, and later with his brother-in-law, Paul Rudd. He served as president of Blue Mountain Seeds for many years.
Over the years he became very active in the community. He was a member of the Oregon Seed Growers Association, of which he served as president in 1975 and 1976. He was a member of the Oregon Seed Growers League, on which he served six years on the board of directors and as president in 1995. He was also on the Oregon Fine Fescue. Commission and the State Alternative Crops Board. He was a member of the South 40 Club, serving as president from 1974-75 and a member of the Last 40 Investment Club.
From 1991 until 2001 he was a member of the board of directors of the Grande Ronde Hospital Association, serving as president from 1995 until 1998. He also served as a board member of the La Grande/Union County Chamber of Commerce during 1993.
His accomplishments in the agricultural industry were extensive and he earned many awards for his work including Union County Outstanding Young Farmer in 1974, La Grande/Union County Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year in 1992, Outstanding Leadership for Union County Agriculture from the Union County Seed Growers Association in 1993, La Grande/Union County Chamber of Commerce Conservation Farmer of the Year in 2002 and Voice of Oregon Grass Seed Industry Award from the Agri Business Council of Oregon in 2004.
Rien’s true love was farming, his wife and his family. He also enjoyed many outdoor activities including motorcycle trail riding, water and snow skiing and flying a plane. He was a certified ski instructor and a U.S. Ski Racing Association official. He traveled with his wife and children for skiing events all over the Northwest.
He loved world history as well as the history of the local farming community. He enjoyed traveling, long walks with his wife and loved his grandchildren.
Survivors include his wife, Cresta de Lint of Alicel; son and his wife, Mauri and Anita de Lint of Alicel; daughter and her husband, Renee and David Miles of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; son and his wife, Marc and Kari de Lint of Alicel; brothers and their wives, Wim and Ina de Lint, Piet and Luci de Lint and Arie Jan and Hettie de Lint and sister and her husband, Anneke and Hermann Weijnen, all of the Netherlands; parents-in-law, Creston and Dovey Shaw of Alicel; sister-in-law and her husband, Janet and Paul Rudd of La Grande; 12 grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; and other relatives and many friends.
Those who wish may make contributions in memory of Mr. de Lint to the Grande Ronde Hospital Foundation in care of Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 Seventh St., La Grande 97850.
The Observer – Obituaries for the week ending April 21, 2007 Published: April 21, 2007
