Baker City, Oregon
Hertha Witham, 85, of Baker City, died March 5, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Her memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Calvary Baptist Church at Third and Broadway streets. Pastor Ed Niswender of the church will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the Calvary Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.
Mrs. Witham was born on Jan. 30, 1918, at Idaho Falls, Idaho. She was raised by Eugene and Mattie Lee LaBrier.
Her early education was received in Boise and at Middleton, Idaho. She graduated from high school at Ontario in 1935. After graduation, she worked for Cables Chevrolet at Ontario where she developed a lasting friendship with Mrs. Cable.
She married Harvey E. Witham on July 26, 1941, at Payette, Idaho. They had been married for 61 years. The couple had four daughters: Evelyn, Jeanne, Reba and Anna Lee.
Mrs. Witham was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church for 55 years or more. She loved the Lord and He was very important in her life and in the lives of her family. Her favorite verses were Philippians 4:11-17. She accepted the Lord while she lived at Middleton.
She was a deaconess for many years. She delivered Meals on Wheels to many a lonely soul. She loved to visit the shut-ins with flowers and to catch them up on the activities of the church and their friends.
She also played the piano for church services for more than 25 years. This was the highlight of her week. She could accompany anyone and she loved to do it. She truly possessed the gift of music and lovingly shared it with all.
She took great delight in having birthday parties for the widows of the church and would take a cake and a card with her. She never missed the birthdays of any one of her 14 grandchildren or great-grandchildren.
Tuesday was her pinochle day and she liked to play with her lifelong friends. She crocheted angels for many people and made the roses that were given out at the church to new visitors. She was a member of the Eastern Star, the Rebekah Lodge, the Irene Mauger Group and she was an Awana leader.
Survivors include her husband, Harvey of Baker City; daughters, Evelyn Ryan and her husband, Robert, and children, Mike, Molly and Mitchell, all of Clark Summit, Pa., Jeanne Schumacher and her husband, Terry, and children, Thomas, Jackie and Carolyn, all of Baker City, Reba Sharp and her husband, Kenny, and their children, Shad and Silene, of Beaverton, and Anna Lee Baum and her husband, David, and their children, Regan, Aleck, Karl and Leigh, of La Grande; and four great-grandchildren, Brendan Ogan, Alyson Ogan, Ashley Reagan and Josie Reagan.
She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Julia and Leona; and a brother.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Calvary Baptist Church Building Fund through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97824.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, March 13, 2003
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
