1970 President Louis Edward Oberson

Charter Member Louis Edward Oberson was born on a wheat ranch in the famous Palouse Country noted as the "Breadbasket of the nation" at Lancaster, Washington on April 25, 1904. His family later moved closer to Colfax where he and his brother, Henry, started their education. Early in his life, he became interested in the rich loess soil on their farm and took great pride in growing vegetables, flowers, and farm animals. As a 4-H Club member, he entered them in the county fairs at Colfax, Yakima, and Spokane and took many blue ribbon prizes. During the summers he and his brother worked with steam engine threshing crews and earned money to attend college.

1970 - LOUIS EDWARD OBERSON (CHARTER MEMBER)

In the fall of 1924, the boys left for Salem, Oregon, where they enrolled at Willamette University. They worked their way through college doing janitorial work, running the university bookstore, and working at the State Highway laboratory. After earning their B.A. degrees in 1928, the brothers went their separate ways: Henry to the Harvard Medical School and Louis to Stanford University. After receiving his M.A. degree in education and psychology in 1930, Louis began his teaching career at the Milwaukie Union High School. In 1936, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps where he served as educational advisor at Camp Sherman on the beautiful Metolius River near Sisters, Oregon.

His love of the out-of-doors led him to join the Mazamas, the Trails Club, and the Audubon Society for which he has served as a director for many years. He has also participated in the annual Christmas nation-wide bird census for about thirty years.

Louis first became acquainted with geology when he read an account in the Oregonian that Dr. Edwin T. Hodge was going to teach a course in geology at the Old Lincoln High School. Being a member of the Mazamas and having climbed both Mt, Hood and Mt. St. Helens each twice, he wanted to learn more about these mountains and their landscapes as well as the great Willamette Valley which had seemed such a contrast to him from the Horse Heaven hills of eastern Washington. He attended the class and was so impressed by the friendly learning atmosphere that he decided to become a charter member of the society that was formed to continue the post class studies. There was so much enthusiasm for this new activity that the students elected their popular teacher to become the first president of the organization that they voted to name the Geological Society of the Oregon Country.

While teaching biology at Roosevelt High school, Louis met and fell in love with Viola Lagasse who came to teach English and drama. They were married on December 18, 1938. After they established a home near Grant High School where Viola had been transferred and after Dr. John Cyprian Stevens had employed her to be his assistant in initiating a campaign to build a museum of science and industry for Oregon, their daughter, Mary Louise, was born on February 7, 1946.

Louis has held most of the chairs in the Portland Men's Garden Club from 1947 to the presidency in 1955; he was secretary then president of the Pacific Northwest Region from 1953 to 1960; and finally director of the National Men's Garden Clubs of America from 1961 to 1964. Besides earning two green thumb awards he has received a certificate in 1965 and a plaque in 1968 for outstanding service to the Men t s Garden Clubs of America. In 1948 he was awarded a Conservation scholarship to the University of California at Santa Barbara by the Portland Women’s Federated Garden Clubs, and in 1951 he was appointed by Governor Douglas McKay as Chairman of the State Liberty Garden Committee. In 1958 he received the Silver Trophy award from the Union Carbide Company for the "Oregon Gardener of the Year.“ In 1961 he was the biology and geology counselor for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Youth Tour of Central Oregon. In the spring of that year he was selected to be the biology pilot teacher of his school for the following year and was awarded a scholarship to the American Institute of Biological Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

He was retired from teaching in the Portland Public Schools in June of 1969, and since that time he has been Soil Consultant for the Multnomah Intermediate Education District Outdoor School at the seven week sessions each fall and spring. He continues to serve as test counselor for Boy Scouts who are completing their studies for the Nature Merit Badge.

Recognizing Oregon's talented geologists seemed most important to the life of the Geological Society during Louis' year of presidency. He decided to hold his President’s Campout on Condon' s First Island in the Siskiyou Mountains, in honor Of Oregon's first state geologist. Dr. Paul W. Howell, professor of geology at Portland State University, assisted by Len Ramp, geologist of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries at Grants Pass, were the field trip leaders during the week-long session. Robert Gamer of Salem and Norman Peterson of Grants Pass, both able geologists and locally knowledgeable of the area, also assisted with their fine leadership in explaining the geology both on the field trips and at the Campfire briefings.

All of the speakers at the Friday night membership meetings during the 1970—1971 year have been Oregon men and women experts in their fields of science. The Library Night in-depth discussions and mini lectures have also been drawn from our own membership specialists. He chose Dr. John Eliot Allen, head of the earth science department at Portland State University, for his annual banquet speaker especially to challenge him to accept the mantle of his former teacher, Dr. Edwin Hodge, in the future leadership of the Society.

By using the talent of local earth scientists both amateur and professional, Louis feels he was helping to contribute to the good climate which is conducive to the study of geology in Oregon and to the fulfillment of the aims of the Society.

Please see The Geological Newsletter, Vol. 36, No. 9, Sept. 1970, for Campout story and pictures.

LEO/VLO

1971 President Archie Kelly Strong

Archie Kelly Strong was born in Marcola, Oregon, on February 20, 1910. His parents were both born in Oregon of pioneer families. His mother was born in Riddle, Oregon, and his father in Myrtle Creek, Oregon. When Arch was a small infant, his parents moved from Marcola to the small town called Reuben in the area of Glendale, Oregon. They settled on a homestead where his father was employed in the sawmill and railroad industries. During the World War I years, Reuben, which is now a ghost town, boasted of a post office, a general store, a sawmill, and logging and rail­road activities. There was then a population of some 200 people. Arch attended elementary school at Reuben, but it closed upon the year of his graduation. He attended high school in Glendale, where he was graduated in 1928,  then attended Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, and received his B.A. degree in biology.

1971 - Archie Kelly Strong

The following ten years were divided between graduate studies in forestry and wildlife at Oregon State University, high school science teaching and coaching, and the U.S. Forest Service. He was employed in forestry and wildlife work in the Siskiyou forest in Grants Pass, Oregon, the Fremont forest in Lakeview, Oregon, and in the Superior forest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From 1939 to 1943, he was Junior Biologist in charge of fish and wildlife management on the Fremont National Forest. During the World War II years, he was granted deferment to engage in engineering work at the Oregon Shipyard in Portland, Oregon. His work consisted in the testing of engine room equipment and performance during trial runs on the Willamette River and subsequent ship delivery to the Navy Department in Astoria.

In 1946, Arch returned to high school as a teacher of science in the Portland area where he taught until 1955. He received his Master of Education degree from the University of Oregon in 1950. From 1955 until his retirement he has been in the employ of the City of Portland and the Multnomah County Public Health Departments in mosquito control work and in other insect control and research activities. In 1945 he married Miss Marion McCarthy who died in 1962. Laura and Arch were married in 1966. Laura has a daughter, Joyce Raines, Of Winterhaven, Florida, and a deceased son who was the father of Laura's two grandchildren.

Arch's major hobbies and interests center largely around nature and the out-of-doors, whether it be the seashore, the mountains, or the high plateau country. He is also interested in many of the organized sports and sporting events. He has held membership in the American Forestry Society, the Society of American Engineers, Oregon State and National Educational Associations, and currently belongs to the American Mosquito Control Association. His publications work has been limited primarily to research study reports in forestry, wildlife, and mosquito projects.

His interest in geology dates back to his boyhood years which were spent in a gold mining locality of Oregon. Curriculum demands did not permit geological study while he was regularly enrolled in college. Evening courses in geology were taken at PSU under Dr. Ruth H. Keen.

In the spring of 1965 and 1964, Arch and Mark Perrault joined the PSU Earth Science field trips to Camp Hancock. Interest developed on these trips and the influence of Mark who had previously joined the Geological Society resulted in Arch's joining the Society in 1964. He became vice president in 1970 and was subsequently elected the 37th president in 1971.

1972 President F. McNeal Fahrion

F. McNeal Fahrion was born November 13, 1915 at Crestline, Ohio.

1972 - F. McNeal Fahrion

Married Ellen Lawrence February 18, 1940. Have three daughters and three grand children.

Was employed as Purchasing Agent by the Commission of Public Docks and the Port of Portland for 36 years and retired in 1981.

Special interest is in Masonic work. Became a member of Unity Lodge 191 in 1943.  Was Master of Research Lodge for two years 1977-78. Organized and directed their Masonic Education Program. Director on board of the Clinic for Childhood Aphasia and Language Disorders, a charity of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Librarian for the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Active also on programs of Al Kader Shrine.

Special interest has been in study and research of Qabalistic and Masonic Philosophy. Conducted a special Research and Study Group in Qabalistic Philosophy for over twenty five years.

Became affiliated with the Geological Society in 1969. Served as Vice President in 1971 and President in 1972. Held president’s camp out of the Society in 1972 on the north side of the Wallowas.

1973 President George Edgar Malin

George Edgar Malin, Sr., was born February 14, 1912 to Joseph E. and Orpha Malin in Three Forks, Montana. His father, a native lowan, and his mother, of Scotch Canadian lineage, were part of the migration caused by the opening of Montana lands to homesteading shortly after the turn of this century.

1973 - George Edgar Malin, Sr.

George, and also his sister Alice, went to grammar school (1917-1920) in Montana, and after a move by the family to Oregon, continued their education at Lincoln High School (1924-1928) in Portland, Oregon. A year at Oregon Institute of Technology (1929) in Portland, completed his childhood formal schooling.

July 1, 1933 he married Lynn Esther Goldson. George Jr., Joan, Jerry, Patricia and David are their children, and their children's children now number fourteen.

He worked, in early career years, for the Southern Glass Company, and after their merger, for the Illinois Pacific Glass Company, in the glass container industry. In 1935 at the time the Illinois Pacific Company merged with the Owens Illinois Company, he switched careers to the retail building materials field, and worked for several years for the W. J. McCready Lumber Yards. In 1939, deciding that nothing ventured, nothing gained, he founded the Park Place Lumber Company which he operated until 1961. The following year was spent, first in building a "radiation fallout shelter", (remember what those were for?), next, in rebuilding a 40 foot commercial salmon troller, and finally, after the fish bug bit, as crew on the troller 'Anna May' for three months. In 1962 he entered the employ of the Clackamas County Assessor as an appraiser. He currently has the position of chief appraiser in that office.

George became interested in the Boy Scouts of America when in high school, and while a member achieved the rank of Star Scout. He served scouting in later years as a committeeman and several years as scoutmaster of Troop 251 in Gladstone, Oregon. He is a long time member of the Gladstone Church of Christ and served many years on that churches' board of deacons.

He is a member, and past officer at both the Clackamas County and state levels, of the Society of Certified Appraisers of Oregon. A member and past vice president of the Association of Federal Appraisers, Oregon Chapter, and a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers. He was the 1973 president of the Clackamas County Employee's Association.

His hobbies include Lynn, and he does help his artist wife with her ceramics, also carpentry, boat-building, fishing, hunting and camping. These outdoor hobbies led to his interest in the natural sciences, in particular structural geology. In pursuing this hobby, he saw advertised and attended a series of lectures at OMSI in 1969, and thereby got acquainted with and joined the GSOC. George and Lynn have been active members and have profited greatly from their association with the society. They have both taken a course in geology at the Clackamas Community College, and George also has studied oceanography and anthropology at the college.

1974 President Francis Clair Stahl

Francis Clair Stahl was born October 25, 1913, to Charles Myron and Evadna Elizabeth Stahl in Philomath, Oregon. His Iowa father and Oregon mother were both teachers in Oregon schools. At 16 Clair changed his name to Clair Francis Stahl.

1974 - Francis Clair Stahl

Graduating from Bellfountain High School in 1932, he was employed in the lumber industry at various places in Oregon. His enlistment in the 29th Engineer Topographic Battalion, U.S. Army in 1938 where he learned topographic mapping and photogrammetry, started him on his career. After being honorably discharged from the Army in 1945, he studied Civil Engineering at Vanport Extension Center and enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Clair and Marguerite S. Shatter were married in Vancouver, Washington on August 24, 1946.

Leaving school in 1948, he received a U.S. Civil Service appointment with the Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, as a surveyor. Transferring to the Pacific Northwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service in 1955, he continued his career as a topographer and photogrammeterist.

Clair became interested in geology upon trying to explain the topographic features he saw on topographic maps and aerial photographs that he used in his profession. After several night classes in geology at Portland Extension Center, he joined the Geological Society of the Oregon Country in 1965.

Clair retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in 1973. He is a life long Democrat (Conservative, he says). Photography used to illustrate and explain natural history, especially invertebrate paleontology is one of his special interests. Another is the study of intertidal life. Geology is one of his special studies since it is also part of his profession.

1975 President John Henry Bonebrake

John Henry Bonebrake was born on February 25, 1909 on a farm just south of Philomath, Oregon. His father was a minister and teacher who became president of Philomath College, a small United Brethren College. Before coming to Philomath Dr. Bonebrake had served Campbell College and Lane University (now Westmar College, LeMars, Iowa) in a similar capacity. John always claimed his father could "do anything" and was his admired ideal. His mother, Charlotte Estella Shipley, was a student at the college and married the president. John's grandmother, a Henkle, crossed the plains to Philomath,  Oregon on the Henkle wagon train. Faithful oxen pulled their prairie schooner to the foothills of Mary's Peak where the subsequent families were raised.

1975 - JOHN HENRY BONEBRAKE

John attended grade school at Hood River (West Barrett) where the family of ten moved. The four older boys had their specified chores on their apple orchard as their father traveled extensively at this time as Conference Superintendent for the United Brethren Church. Moving again, this time to Portland, John finished his grade school education at Woodlawn and graduated from Jefferson High School. Early in life he decided to be a metallurgist, but changed his mind in mid-high school to that of Mechanical Engineer.  He is a graduate engineer in that field. His college schooling was at Oregon State University 1929-1934, followed by numerous specialty courses at University of Oregon Extension Center, Oregon Technical Institute and others. Together with his wife, Phyllis, they have, since before marriage consistently studied courses in several schools. Each has accumulated about 30 credits at Clark College, Vancouver, 12 credits each in Geology and Rocks and Minerals.

Phyllis Greer and John were in the same high school but actually met at an Oregon State University function. They were married April 11, 1937 at Piedmont Presbyterian Church in Portland. They raised two daughters, one of whom, Jean Katherine Gatherer died during pregnancy in 1967. The youngest daughter, Beverly Rae is married to Kenneth W. Vernon, chemical engineer and patent attorney whose office is in Seattle, though they live in Auburn where their three children attend school. 

After formal training, John worked in a number of technical fields. One experience that established his interest in geology was employment in the engineering department of the International Smelting Company at Tooele,  Utah, under his brother, a graduate mining engineer. In those days engineering employment was hard to find. He did engineering with Columbia Aircraft Company in Portland, became plant engineer at Timber Structures Company, Portland, and switched to heavy power plant contracting also in Portland.  At the close of World War II he became an associate member of a local consulting engineering firm. In 1952 he opened his own professional office as John H. Bonebrake, Consulting Engineer. His specialties are primarily large air conditioning systems, boiler plants, heating ventilating, piping, duct systems and sewerage design.

Alaska has been one of John's main fields of operation for all of his consulting years. Included are hundreds of projects for the state, institutional, hospital, and governmental projects throughout most of Alaska.  He has been a registered Professional Engineer since 1943, being registered in Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

The drilling of many wells in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska by necessity created in him a great interest in geology. A number of wells, many in the Portland area were drilled entirely through the thick Columbia River basalt flow in search of tepidly warm water for heat pump projects. Others were drilled shallower for cold water, for domestic water, and for fire fighting purposes.

His diversified work is his main hobby. He also likes to swing a hammer and saw. A weekly swim in the pool across the street is on his agenda, and an occasional game of golf.  Another hobby, skiing, regrettably takes a back seat, though the whole family skiied for many years on the slopes of Mt. Hood. Hiking takes high priority, even the Chilkoot Trail of Alaska and many hunts in Alaska.

The Bonebrakes are members of the Mock's Crest Evangelical Church and are registered Republicans.

1976 President Opal May Helfrich

GSOC’s first female president!

1976 - Opal May Helfrich

Opal Helfrich, a native Oregonian, was born in Portland on May 20, 1916 to William Everett and Lucy Elizabeth Jones.  As a child she loved the outdoors and spent as much time as possible there, looking for the first wild flowers of spring, savoring the warm days of summer, admiring the colorful maples of autumn, and delighting in the quiet beauty of the new fallen snow of winter.

As a student at Jefferson High School, she was active in Girl Scouts and represented that school on an all-city council.  Upon graduation, she received a scholarship to Linfield College and later one to Oregon State College.  She took courses through the Extension Service of the Department of Higher Education and at Portland State University.  In addition she studied law for two years at Northwest College of Law, now a part of Lewis and Clark College.

In 1947 she was president of Progressive Business Women's Club and is a charter member of that organization.  Other memberships include the Native Plant Society of Oregon, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the Oregon Academy of Science.

During World War II she worked for the Pullman Company, where she had charge of the sleeping car assignments on both troop and civilian trains. After this she was employed by the Internal Revenue Service where she ultimately became a tax technician in the Estate and Gift Tax Division, for nine years, she and her husband, Merle C. Helfrich, operated Parkrose Paint & Equipment Co.  In 1972 they purchased Helfrich Equipment Co. in which they are both active.

At the suggestion of her son, Jerry A. Vanderlinde, an Assistant Professor of Art at North Dakota State University at Fargo, Opal enrolled in Ralph Mason's course in geology at Portland State University. At Mr. Mason's invitation, Opal and Merle became members of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country.

They also share a mutual interest in music, and enjoy playing piano duets together.  They are members of the Oregon Symphony Society. Their other interests are gardening, traveling, hiking, and camping with their grandson Bill Vanderlinde.  They also have another grandson, Orion who lives with his parents Jerry and Thuy Vanderlinde.

1977 President Norman A. Hessel

Born - Aberdeen, Washington in 1912.

1977 - NORMAN A. HESSEL

Education - Benson High School, Portland, Oregon, 1933

One year Geology from Portland Community College, 1973. United States Army, 1940-45

Occupation - Machinist, retired.

Married - Geneva Lyons in 1945.

Children - Steven in 1947, Janet in 1949. Grandchildren--three plus.

Hobbies - Hiking, photography, and the natural sciences.

in 1930, while hiking the Skyline Trail for the second time, I wanted to learn more about the mountains, Crater Lake and the beauty of the scenery.

In 1971, we joined the Geological Society of the Oregon Country, In addition to GSOC, I am a member of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Society of Miscellaneous Oregon Scientists, the Oregon Academy of Science, and the native Plant Society of Oregon.

1978 President Robert Waiste

Robert Waiste, Jr., was born in Portland, Oregon, March I5, 1921, the son of the Late Robert A. and Lorna Fisher Waiste.

1978 - ROBERT WAISTE, JR.

Attended Kennedy Elementary School, Jefferson High School, Northwest Business College in Portland,

Organization affiliations at present:

• Geological Society of the Oregon Country

• National Association of Retired federal Employees

• National federation of federal Employees

• Native Plant Society of Oregon

• Society of American Military Engineers

Occupation:  With Corps of Engineers, Portland District, October 194l  to retirement February 26, 1977 from position as Chief, Office of Administrative Services.

Military Service:  U. S, Army, 22 August 1942 to 6 February 1946.

Hobbies:  Hunting and fishing.

Joined GSOC in 1960’s.  Have taken geology courses sponsored by the Society.

Reside with wife, Dorothy, at 133 SE 27th Avenue, Portland, Ore., 97214.

1979 President William MacRitchie Freer

William MacRitchie Freer was born at the foot of Mt. Mayon, (pronounced 'My own'), on the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon in the Philippine Islands on February 26, 1907.  Mt. Mayon is a favorite text book example of a perfect cinder cone, and most of the membership have seen pictures of it in texts they have perused.  It rises 8,000 feet above sea level at Legaspy, and being, I believe, the highest point of land in Luzon, it is a favorite landfall for mariners in that part of the globe.  It is an active volcano.

1979 - William Freer

Reason for my being born at this improbable spot was that my father was one of the first American educators to go to the Islands after the war - the Spanish American War, that is - to organize the American school system there.

Subsequently I Lived in Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Ohio, and Michigan, but mostly in Oregon. I went to Lincoln High School here in Portland, and then to the Oregon Agricultural College - now Oregon State university.  But before I could graduate, high adventure lured me to the Oregon woods scene where I lived in logging camps and built the railroads for sundry logging companies.  In the summer of 1926 I helped locate the road around the rim of Crater Lake; in 1928 the Lewis River was my playground when the first aerial topographic map, in the Northwest was made there preliminary to the building of the dams.

Later, I attached myself to the Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for whom I made hydrographic surveys on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, some for navigation and others for studies for dam locations.  These adventures were interrupted by World War II, when I found myself in the 29th Engineer Mapping Battalion, then stationed right here in Portland.  The next four years found me field checking 15 minute quadrangles from Cape Flattery to the Mexican border.  Back with the Portland District after the war I designed and produced the District's navigation and dredging charts, to which I added rectified photography. From 1962 to 1969 I was the President of Local No. 7 of the National Federation of Federal Employees.  Consistent with the syndrome of my retarded childhood, I was married in 1965 to Kathryn Sins, Treasurer of Local No.7, who graciously pretended that I was quite normal.

I joined the Geological Society in I960, impressed by the enthusiasm of Stilly Moltzner and Dwight and Daisy Henderson.  Daisy was an old friend from Oklahoma Days.

I retired from the Corps in 1972, and since then my principal interest has been trying to keep out of trouble — at which I am not very successful.

1980 President Donald Golden Turner

Donald Golden Turner was born in Wasco, Oregon on April 1, 1915

1980 - DONALD GOLDEN TURNER

Father, Harold Norton Turner, was Superintendent of Transportation for the Union Pacific.

Mother, Florence Burnett

Fernwood Grade School, Portland, Benson High School, and two years at Oregon State College.

 Forty years later, earned an Associate degree in Science at Portland Community College.

Life Member of the Masonic Order

Now teaches folk dancing in the PCC adult education department.

Married on October 16, 193& to Elizabeth Ellen Jones.

Retired in 1972 from the Union Pacific Railroad after 34 years as switchman, brakeman and conductor on both passenger and freight. (Disability)

His continuing interest in railroads is satisfied by a model in the basement. (Safer)

An unofficial part of his duties as a passenger brakeman was pointing out scenic and historical features to passengers in the dome car. When Dr. Ruth Hobson (Keen) rode with him one trip, she introduced him to the geological aspects and a new way of seeing. 

Further information sought at PCC led to Geology classes there and information about the Geological Society and membership in 1972.

1981 President Joseph D. (Joe) Beemer

Joseph D. (Joe) Beemer was born July 8, 1928 at Lagrange, Wyoming. Parents, Alpheus H. and. Myrtle Loft is Beemer, were born in Nebraska.  The father was a Midwest farmer. The family moved to Oregon in 1929where he worked as a carpenter, a welder, and a logger. Joseph Beemer has lived in Oregon and Washington since then except for about one year in Nebraska.

1981 - Joseph D. (Joe) Beemer

He attended high schools in Oregon, Washington., and Nebraska; the University of Oregon; took additional courses at Portland State University and Portland Community College.  He received his CPA in 1959.

Organization affiliations include:

•Geological Society of the Oregon Country
•Portland Chamber of Commerce — Past Director
•Portland Toastmasters #31 — Past President
•Oregon Society CPA's
•American Institute of CPA's
•National Association of CPA Firms — National Secretary
•Portland Estate Planning Council

Married Barbara C. (Connie) Jenks in 1946.

Occupation:  Accountant, CPA 1946 - present.

Hobbies:  Reading, Hiking, GSOC, Travel

Became interested in geology about 1970 because of financial interest in a Canadian copper mine.

Taken three terms of Geology at Portland Community College. Became a member about 1972.

1982 President Ruth Hopson Keen

Ruth Hopson Keen was born June 19, 1906 in Sayre, Oklahoma. Parents: Edwin L. Hopson and Willie A. Hopson.

1982 - RUTH HOPSON KEEN

Moved to Oregon before my fifth birthday.  Attended grade school and high school in Marshfield (now Coos Bay), Oregon. Graduated from Marshfield High School in June 1924. Graduated from Oregon Normal School, Monmouth, Oregon, September 3, 1926. B.A. degree from University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, September 28, 1931. M.A. degree from University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, June17, 1935. Ph D. degree from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, June 23, 1946.

Honoraries: Sigma Xi, Pi Lambda Theta,  Sigma Delta Epsilon. Sorority: Zeta Tau Alpha.

Taught grade school,  junior high and high school in Oregon public schools from 1927 -1939 in Marshfield, Salem, and Eugene. Taught forthe Division of Continuing Education, Oregon State Systemof Higher Educationfrom 1941 - 1971. Subjects were geology, natural history, and conservation.  Directed teachers workshopin conservation for fifteen summers.

Was Ranger Naturalist, Crater Lake National Park, June 1947 and Naturalist for the Crater Lake Field School of Nature Appreciation, University of Oregon the rest of that summer. Was Ranger Naturalist at Lava Beds National Monument the summer of 1953. Taught Natural History of Oregon on Educational T.V. Channel 10, Spring Term 1963. Was Nature Counselor, Camp Chaparral, National Girl Scout Leaders Training Camp, Big Basin, California, summers of 1931,  32,  36, and 39. Retired fromthe position of Professor of General Science, Portland, Center, Division of Continuing Education, Oregon State System of Higher Education,  June, 1971.

Publications: Nature articles in Nature Magazine, Pacific Discovery, American Forests, American Nature Study Society, Mazamas, and others. Collier Glacier report in Mazama 1961, 62, 63,

Awards: 1964 Beaver Award for Conservation Education from the Oregon Division of the Izaak Walton League of America, Inc.

1964 Certificate of Award for Outstandingwork in Soil and Water Conservation. Presented by Oregon Chapter,   Soil Conservation Society of Oregon.

1977 Northwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies award winner for the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Scholarship Foundation.  This is presented for distinguished achievement in the field of Earth Science.  (First woman selected for this award).  I had the privilege of choosing two students to receive scholarships toward Masters degree, one for $2000 and one for $1000, both from Portland State University, for an Earth Science Department Fellow and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Honorary Member Tualatin Valley Gem Club.

 Activities in Professional and related societies:

• American Nature Study Society:

  • Western Division: Vice-president 1952-53.. President 1953-54. 

  • National :  Vice-president 1952-53. President 1954. President-­elect 1960.   President 1961.  Board member 1955 and 1962.

• Oregon Academy of Science: Represented the Oregon Academy of Science on the council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at Cleveland in 1950, Philadelphia, 1951, St. Louis, 1952, and Boston, 1953.

• National Association of Biology Teachers:  Board member 1952-54. Chairman for Oregon 1951-52 for Region IX (Oregon, Washington, California) 1953-54. Committee for preparation of Handbook for Teaching of Conservation and Resource Use, assisted in processing material for this handbook in Boston, December 1953,  book was published 1955.  Title - Conservation Handbook.

• American Geophysical Union:  Sub- committee on Glaciers of Central Cascades 1949-

• Northwest Bird and Mammal Society:  Vice-president for Oregon 1957-58.

• Nature Conservancy:  Chairman of Oregon Chapter 1 967-68. Member Pacific Coast Board 1959-60.       

• Mazamas: Have served on Science, Education, and Conservation committees and led field trips, also articles in their annual.

• Geological Society of the Oregon Country: Board member 1958-59-60 and 1964-65. Vice-president and program chairman1957. Vice-president and program chairman 1981. President 1982.

• Member of the following societies:

  • Geological Society of the Oregon Country

  • Geological Society of America

  • Oregon Academy of Science

  • Oregon Agate and Mineral Society

  • Tualatin Valley Gem Club.

  • Nature Conservancy

  • Audubon Society

  • Native Plant Society

  • Mazamas

  • Obsidians

  • Sierra Club

  • Oregon Old Time Fiddlers

  • Washington Old Time Fiddlers

  • Columbia River Old Time Strings

  • Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers

  • Melody Makers Orchestra

  • American Association of University Professors

Hobbies: photography and fiddling

1983 President Francis Clair Stahl

Born at Philomath, Benton County Oregon on October 25, 1913 as Francis Clair Stahl.

1983 - Francis Clair Stahl

Parents : Charles Myron Stahl, a teacher, and Evadna Elizabeth (Springer) Stahl, a teacher.

After graduating from Bellfountain High School, Benton County Oregon, in 1932 and trying various sawmill and logging jobs, enlistment in the US Army 29th Engineer Topographic Battalion, then stationed in Portland Oregon, on June 25th 1938 I had the opportunity to learn mapping from Aerial Photographs and by Survey methods. Discharge from the US Army was after WW2 on October 31, 1945. As a Civilian working for the Corps of Engineers with an appointment of Photogrammetric Aide, I married Marguerite (Peigi) S. Schatter on August 24, 1946. A year — 1947 — at Vanport Extension Center then back to the Corps of Engineers in Surveying and later Topographic Drafting.

April 25, 1955 found me transferred to the US Forest Service, Surveys and Maps Branch in Portland Oregon where summer field work and winter in the office was the usual regimen. Later field work was eliminated and plotting and producing maps of all sorts was our responsibility.

While at Vanport Extension Center I enlisted in the US Army Reserves in June 1947. For the next 25 years, with Artillery, Transportation Corps and Training Battalion assignments the reserve affiliation was maintained until 1973 and retirement from the US Army as a Chief MSG.

Retirement from the Civil Service on March 10 1978. My Hobbies of Photography and Natural History especially Geology and Conchology led me into several night classes in Geology at Portland State University to learn why the hills and streams were there in that particular place. June 1964 Peigi and I joined the Geological Society of the Oregon Country. Peigi has been Editor twice and I was also President in 1974.

1984 President Viola Lagasse Oberson

Portland, Oregon is my native birthplace and home. My early education began at the Rose City Park grade school and then at Washington high school. Before I was graduated from high school, my parents being of Belgian descent and religious background thought that I should attend a private school in order to add Christian training to my education.  So I was enrolled at Seattle Pacific College (now University) where I obtained a Normal School certificate to teach in grade school. I continued in school there and obtained the Bachelor of Arts degree and added high school teaching certification. Since I had become enamored with the scholar's program, I decided to complete the Master of Arts requirements at the University of Washington in liberal education. My major was Literature with minors in history, speech, and education. Drama and communications were high in my choice of electives and extra-curricular activities.

1984 - VIOLA LAGASSE OBERSON

My first teaching position was in 1932 at Cul de Sac, Idaho, where I not only taught English, Latin, and Home Economics, but also was Dean of Girls. I gained many friends with whom I have corresponded these many years. My next position was at Kent, Washington. Having come from a school where the student body was half Indian, I soon found myself teaching classes with fifty percent Japanese or Nisei young people who were extremely studious and not so sport minded as the young braves of the Nez Perce. I still treasure some of the meticulous pen and ink drawings made by the drama and Shakespeare class students. And can you imagine putting on the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, "Pirates of Penzance" with half the cast being Japanese? But we did, with aplomb and what the community said was great success.

While attending summer school at the University of Washington, I received a letter requesting that I apply for a position at the Canby Union High School. I did, and in the fall I was not only teaching English and dramatics but was assigned again to be Dean of Girls. Clerk Belton, later Senator Howard C. Belton, seemed adamant that that was where my niche was.

Several years before this, I had taken a two day test given for prospective Portland teachers. During the summer while vacationing in San Francisco, I received a letter from the Portland School Board stating that out of the 250 who took the test the nine that were ahead of me had been used up and that there was now a vacancy in the English department.  Should I wish to accept this position, I was to report for work early in September at Roosevelt High School. I returned to Portland, resigned from the Canby Union High School, found an apartment in town, went to Roosevelt High School, met and later married my husband, Louis Oberson, and automatically became a member of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country of which he had become a charter member three years earlier.

We bought a home near Grant High School where I had been transferred because at that time a husband and wife were not allowed to teach in the same building. After teaching at Grant for several years, I was again transferred to Franklin High School without my willing consent or Principal Bitner's. Superintendent Jack Edwards said that I was to initiate a speech and drama department there. It seemed I had the qualifications and KBPS was in need of trained students and broadcasting was an attractive new job opportunity. We filled the bill with a number of students who have made the field of communications their life's work.  A group of us keep in touch and meet for lunch in the summertime - still. They are my boys and girls even though they are in their fifties. I hear about their year's activities at Christmas time. I finished my public school career by teaching evening Veteran's refresher courses at Lincoln High School. However much I enjoy the classroom, it was time to think about having a family, but as usual, two things happened.

Going to a Geological Society Luncheon meeting at the Chamber of Commerce building, I met Dr. Courtland Booth, a close friend and member who escorted me up the long flight of stairs. He surprised me by revealing that he would be delivering a baby to be born soon and if we were interested in adoption to let him know;  My attention was not on the speaker that day. Upon going home after the meeting, Dr. J.C. Stevens took my arm and as we walked down the stairs said, "Viola, I'm going to start a museum for the state of Oregon and I want to set up an office. Will you come and be my assistant?" What a dilemma this presented!  We decided to do both. I hired a substitute mother for the hours I was away from home. We had the best of both worlds - a beautiful baby girl and I was able to help Oregon's Museum get started. After occupying an extra office space for one month,  Aaron Frank asked where we were located.  My response was not too enthusiastic as I told him we had no room to display any objects to the public to let them know we needed a museum.  "You can have the writing room of the Portland Hotel for your office if you want it.  We'll see about using the windows of the store to let Oregonians see all your displays."  He gave me wings and sky both for that was the beginning of what the five civic organizations put together as an initial effort to make a Museum of History, Science, and Industry for the state of Oregon.

Dr.  Stevens contributed the rest of his life and a fortune to make it a success.  My booklet entitled,  "One Man's Dream Becomes Community's Push Button Project," was written in his honor and it was distributed at the dedication of the present Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) building and later sold in the book store.  Several of the science related organizations bought five hundred copies and gave them to their members.

After working full time for two years it was time for me to quit and become a full fledged mother. It was also time for OMSI to engage a museum specialist and fund raiser to try to take some of the burden from Dr. Stevens. The William T. Hornaday Foundation supplied John Ripley Forbes and again we thought we were off to a flying start. The Museum did take off but in an entirely new direction from the original dream of which Dr. Edwin T. Hodge spoke in his inaugural address to the Geological Society,  "It is my dream that this Society establish a natural history museum that would become the Smithsonian of the West. "

Since we had known Alonzo Wesley Hancock for many years and I had assisted him in the making of his will for the assignment of his paleontological collection to OMSI upon his death, his wife, Berrie, asked me to write an account of their lives.  Lon gave his first display of skeletal bones from the Clarno Mammal Beds as a promotional feature for a museum for Oregon while we were located in the Portland Hotel.  My brief account of this import­ant amateur paleontologist was published in the October 1979 issue of the OREGON GEOLOGY magazine by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Through the years, I have found time to cultivate many friends in different professions. Upon invitation, I was accepted as a member of the Professional Woman's League- a league of women active in their many various professions. In 1972, I became their 60th president. Again through the invitation of friends,  I was invited to attend the meetings and later asked to join the Pi Omicron Sorority - a literature and fine arts study association of interested women. This group had its inception in 1929 through the University Guild. I have served twice as president - 1971 and 1981. Both of these fine organizations have enriched my life and I have gained many Close friendships.

It was also my privilege to be affiliated for many years with the Soroptimist Club and the University Women's Association.   Presently I am associated with Ikebana International and am also enjoying my membership in the Japanese Gardens.

The Geological Society of the Oregon Country has been a family affair with us. Mary Lou attended most of the outdoor activities until she finished high school.  Louis and I have taken many related classes.  He has held a number of offices in the Society and was president in 1970. I have been in charge of the annual picnic,  banquet, and have written articles for the newsletter, helped with the memorial book purchasing for the library, staged many of the programs at different events, participated in panel discussions, and lectured to the Society.  I was appointed historian in 1969 and served through 1976, and was elected editor of the Geological Newsletter from March 1972 serving through February 1976. At the Society's Banquet in 1976 President John H. Bonebrake presented me with a certificate which stated that the Society designated me as "A Fellow of the Society."  This was indeed an honor. Upon submitting two copies of The Geological Newsletter that I had edited to the Association of Earth Science Editors,  I was accepted as a member in this national organization. In 1978, Laurette Kenney resigned as Luncheon Program chairwoman and recruited me to take her place. I served in this capacity until 1981 and was then appointed Luncheon Chairwoman. All the while it was my privilege to supply the luncheon members and guests with 140 speakers and have presided at that many luncheons to which 7,636 people have attended.

The members of the Society have now elected me to be their 50th President! Truly,  it is my crowning achievement even though I never dreamed of it happening to me. I always have been happy in the work I was doing at the moment. The historical contributions of those who have served is as awesome to me as are the challenges to be accomplished in the future. Albert and Ruth Hopson Keen were the first couple, each of whom has served as President of the Society. Louis and I are now the second team to be so honored. We feel especially privileged in that we have personally known and count as our friends all 48 of the presidents and their mates who have preceded us!

Read articles written by Viola Oberson and her daughter, Mary Lou Oberson, in The Geological Newsletter and our website:

Charter GSOC member Lon Hancock was first to discover vertebrate fossils in the Oregon's Clarno Formation

Two Generations of "Geesockers"

1985 President Donald. B. Parks

•Born Portland, Oregon, December 28, 1912
•Father: Rupert Norris Parks, Born county of Kent, England
•Mother: Newell Oakes Parks, Born Salt Lake City, Utah

1984 - DONALD B. PARKS

After Graduating from Rose City Park Grade School and Grant High school in Portland, I entered the School of architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon. In pursuing my Bachelor of science degree, on of my elective courses was an Introduction to Geology, and one of my instructors was Lloyd Ruff who served as GSOC's 9th president in 1943.

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity became my Greek connection while attending the University. Eugene was becoming my permanent residence after graduating in 1939. Part-time work in an architectural office and part time in the school of architecture continued until 1941.

At that time I returned to Portland after accepting an engineering position with Albina Engine and Machine works, a Portland shipyard building navy ships. It there that I met Enid, who was employed as a secretary. We were married in June of 1943 and became firmly settled in Portland.

I was granted a certificate to practice architecture in 1951 and shortly thereafter established my own architectural office.  My works included the design of schools, churches, a number of residences and a variety of structures for Pacific Northwest Bell.

In 1971 I accepted a position as architect with Pacific Power and Light Company, and retired in 1978.  While there, I was invited by my longtime friend John Bonebrake to give a luncheon program of slides I had taken on a visit to Southern Spain. Following that introduction to GSOC, I joined the Society in 1973, and to my surprise, in 1985, became its 51st president.

1986 President Hazel R. Newhouse

Native Oregonian,  Born at Springbrook (now part of Newberg),  Oregon, May 19, 1906.   

1986 - HAZEL R. NEWHOUSE

 This small village was the heart of a thriving berry and fruit area. Her father C. E. Newhouse organized and managed a cooperative cannery. Her mother, Hattie Rush, taught in her native state of Minnesota where she met and married Clint Newhouse when he came from Wisconsin to take up a land claim. They moved to Oregon in the late 1800's.

Elementary education was in a two-room school.  She graduated from the Quaker Prep school in Newberg which Herbert Hoover once attended.  B.A. fromWillamette University in 1927.  (Major - History,  Minor- Mathematics).  She took her first geology course there in 1925.

Travel and camping began early. Twice before 1914 she traveled with a community covered-wagon train over the Coast Mountains to a beach camp north of Cape Kiwanda. Several camping trips were made in the Columbia Gorge.

Campfire and 4-H activities were early interests and she was a leader at Camp Namanu (east of Gresham) and Camp Sealth on Vashon Island.  At the latter she made a friend who asked her to accompany her to Japan. (In 1930 the ticket cost $100.21)  A college friend in Peking, China, requested her to fill in for a teacher on leave. 1930-33 she was a leader of a Girl Scout troop sponsored by Mrs. Herbert Hoover and for which Pearl Buck was a director.  (Lots of camping in geological settings.)

Taught mathematics and Latin in Chehalis, Washington before going to China, English in Wei Wen Academy (Chinese boy's Middle School), mathematics in Peking American School and Latin for English majors in the Peking Women's University. At least half of the American school students were Chinese preparing to attend American Colleges.

Returning to Oregon in 1933 (depression years) her Oregon teacher's certificate had to be renewed and a year of (so-called) education courses required. Travel was achieved by taking summer courses up and down the Pacific Coast:  Oregon Agricultural College (OSU), University of Washington, University of California, University of Southern California, and University of Oregon. Having had little knowledge of the Orient when she went there - courses in geography and geology were sandwiched in when possible.

1935-41 - taught geography (also mathematics, history and Latin - not all the same year) at St. Helens, Oregon.

Mount St. Helens played an interesting part in her life. At Chehalis the hotel was The St. Helens and most of the field trips and picnics were to Mount St.  Helens. At St. Helens, Oregon, the mountain was viewed across the Columbia River. Then for the over 30 years she taught at Gresham, Oregon, Mount St. Helens was on view driving to and from her home at 4709 N. Willamette Blvd. She always told her students that many of the Cascade volcanoes were not dead but, like many others, never dreamed one would erupt in her lifetime - but Mount St. Helens did May 18, 1980.

During W, W. II she taught geography for the A. S. T. P. at the University of Oregon.  During that time she completed work for her M. A.  She was then offered a position as graduate assistant in the Geography Department while working on Ph. D, but was told that no woman would be offered a position as professor in that field at the University and, as at that time, no other Oregon college taught geography and as she wanted to stay in Oregon, she went back to full time high school teaching and taught college courses in geography at summer school and in evening classes at Monmouth (now Western Oregon College),  U. of O. Extension (Portland), Lewis and Clark, Concordia,  U. of O. (Eugene),  Mt. Angel,  P.S.U., and for the Oregon System of Higher Education (mostly at P. S. U.  and Gresham).

Physical geography was always a basic interest. Ruth Keen, whom she met at the University of Oregon often invited her to GSOC lectures, banquets, Camp-outs and to give slide lectures. Joined GSOC in 1972.

From 1952 - attended IGU (International Geography/Geology Union) meetings where field trips were led by geography and geology professors. These meetings, held every four years,  were at Washington,  D. C.,  London,  Stockholm,  Montreal, Moscow and New Delhi.  For New Delhi and Moscow,  she went around the world.  Slide lectures, about places visited, have been given at GSOC meetings and for many other organizations and for schools and colleges.

1959-60 - Fulbright exchange to Wallasey (near Liverpool) Girls Grammar School.

1975-78 - Vice president and president of East Multnomah County Retired Teachers. Also led their tours (over 100 - mainly to places where she had led college and high school geography field trips) and served on the board since 1972.

Fellow - National Council for Geographic Education.

Board - 1. English Speaking Union 2. U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association 3. American University Women 4. Overseas Educators 5. Pacific Coast Geographers 6. Oregon Geographers.

Member -  Oregon Historical Society, University Park Methodist Church, State and National Retired Educators.

1937 - her brother moved to Wedderburn (near Gold Beach).  First drove through this area in 1933 when Highway 101 was largely two planks with turn outs and all rivers were crossed by ferry except the Rogue which had been bridged.  These facts plus studying the Tyee formation which has spectacular outcrops in Ruth Keen's seminar influenced the choice of southwestern Oregon for the 1986 President's Geological Tour/Campout.

1985-87 - Real challenge - serving as vice president and president of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country.  The help and support of the past presidents made the years rewarding.

1987 President Raymond E. (Andy) Corcoran

I was born in Norfolk, Virginia, where my father was stationed at the Norfolk Naval Base.  It was also where my mother grew up and eventually met my father, so it worked out well for everyone.

1987 - RAYMOND E. (Andy) CORCORAN

In 1931 my father was transferred to the Pacific Fleet (U.S.S. Saratoga) based in Long Beach, California, and I continued to live there until I graduated from college, (U.C.L.A.).

My first job was with Union Oil Co. in their Rocky Mountain Division.  It was very good experience for me because most of California (like Oregon) is Cenozoic geology, whereas most of the Rocky Mountains are underlain by Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks.  In 1951, Union Oil transferred me to their West Texas Division, and after spending six months down there I decided that I wanted to return to the West Coast, I enrolled in graduate school at the Univ. of Oregon , and received my M.S. in geology in 1953.  While in Eugene I had applied to the Oregon Dept. of Geology when Mr. Fay Libbey was Director, and was subsequently offered a job with them when I graduated.

After working for the Department for four years I was offered a position with Harvey Aluminum Co. to direct their bauxite (aluminum ore) exploration program.  Since this would allow me to work in areas of the world I would not otherwise have an opportunity to see, I accepted it.  During the next three and a half years I explored bauxite deposits in Hawaii, Jamaica, and South America (Surinam and British Guiana), as well as here in Oregon and Washington.  It was great fun, but hard on my family life, so I returned to the Department in 1960.  I remained with DOGAMI until 1977, becoming Director and State Geologist in 1969 when Hollis Dole, my predecessor, became Asst. Secretary of the Interior for Minerals.

Seeking new challenges, I accepted a job with the U. S. Bureau of Mines in Washington, D.C. as administrative assistant to the Director overseeing environmental impact of Bureau related mining and metallurgical research.  Three and a half years later, I had had enough of Federal bureaucracy and decided to return to Oregon and go into private consul­ting.  Since 1980 I have been enjoying my "new life" immensely, not the least of which has been to be elected President of the Geological Society of the Oregon Country.

My wife, Jean, and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary this year.  We have three children, Mike, Rick, and Debbie, all of whom we are inordinately proud.

1988 President Joline Alta Robustelli

Joline, a native Oregonian, was born May 16, 1939, in Klamath Falls. She attended Altamont Elementary and Junior High School, and graduated from Klamath Union High School in 1957. She played clarinet in the KUHS band. Rainbow for Girls provided an additional interest during her teen years.

1988 - JOLINE ALTA ROBUSTELLI

She accepted employment in June, 1957, with the Klamath County Public Welfare Commission. For nine years, she was the Commission secretary, taking minutes at the monthly Commission meetings, transcribing dictation, certifying applicants for food stamps, and other routine clerical work.

Klamath Falls was a small community and employment opportunities were limited. While working full time, she took evening continuing education classes at Kingsley Field and at Oregon Institute of Technology. She moved to Portland in September, 1966, to enroll full time at Portland State University. She received a BS in History from PSU in June, 1969.

She accepted a secretarial position in July, 1969, with Unigard Insurance Group. In March, 1970, she became a casualty-property claims adjuster. Assisting people during time of loss and extreme stress due to accident and injury was overwhelming, so she left Unigard in September, 1980.

Joline worked for temporary agencies for several months. In February, 1981, she was referred to Portland Development Commission. Following 4 1/2 years as a temporary employee, doing microfilming, she became a permanent employee in July, 1985. She was transferred to the new Computer Services/Records Management Department in January, 1988.

Joline has taken numerous business and professional courses and classes. The general property and casualty classes with Insurance Institute of America, followed by Law for the Claimsperson, lead to professional designations. In 1984, she received a Certified Professional Insurance Woman award, followed by Casualty Claim Law Associate and Casualty-Property Claim Law Associate designation.

She has been active in service organizations, including the American Council of Venture Clubs, affiliated with Soroptimist International, where she served as secretary to the Klamath Falls club from 1960-1962. This was followed by regional secretary, 1962-1964, and regional governor, 1964-1966. During this time three new Canadian Venture Clubs were chartered.

She was affiliated with the Oregon Casualty Adjusters Association from 1970-1980, and Insurance Women's Association of Portland from 1970-1977.

Other organizations include YWCA Tour Committee from 1977 to the present, planning and escorting tours; member Oregon Historical Society, 1980 to the present; World Affairs Council of Oregon, 1986 to the present; American Records Management Association, 1988; and Audubon Society, 1989.

Joline joined GSOC in September, 1980.  She served on the hospitality committee, 1982-1983; treasurer, 1983-1985; assistant newsletter editor, 1985-1988; vice president and program chair, 1987-1988; and president, 1988-1989. In addition, she has presented several slide programs.

Joline has many outside interests and hobbies. She likes traveling, outdoor activities and hiking. Knitting, sewing, and needle work comprise additional interests.

1989 President Rosemary Richartz Kenney

Rosemary Richartz was born and reared on a dairy farm near Walla Walla, Washington. After the family moved to Umapine, Oregon, she attended the Umapine Public Schools, graduating as valedictorian from Umapine High School.

1989 - ROSEMARY RICHARTZ  KENNEY

After graduation from Oregon State University and dietetic internship at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, she combined her professional career and her love of travel. Home base was always Portland, Oregon. No matter whereshe traveled, she always returned to Portland where she worked as a dietitian at various times, at St. Vincents Hospital, Beth Kaiser Hospital, University of Oregon Health Science Center, University of Oregon Dental School, Emanuel Hospital, and at the U.S. Veterans Medical Center both in Portland and at the Vancouver Division.

Enjoyable work was found in Casablanca, Morocco; Denver, Colorado; Walla Walla, Washington; Los Angeles, California; and Corvallis, Oregon. The high points of Rosemary's career were working for the Indian Health Service Hospital at Fort Defiance, Arizona on the Navajo Indian Reservation, and at Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia. On one of her return trips to Portland, she married Albert Kenney, former president of GSOC.  They combined their interests of geology, paleontology and travel.

She always had an interest in geology, but it began in earnest when she attended a night course at Portland State University taught by Dr. Ruth Hopson Keen. That sparked motivation to attend more and more classes. She joined GSOC in 1962 and has served the society on the Refreshment Committee and held offices of Librarian and Secretary, in addition to President.

Our fifty-fifth President took an early retirement in 1989 to enjoy life without the interference of work.

Historical note from Carol Hasenberg in 2024:

Rosemary also maintained her contact with GSOC quite well in the years prior to the COVID pandemic. She hosted all the GSOC board meetings for many, many years. During the first 10 years or so of my stint as GSOC newsletter editor (2000-2020 and now the archive document post 2020), Rosemary was the newspaper publisher and indexer, and you can still see those indices printed on her old dot matrix printer in the January newsletters from that era. She also did some volunteer work at DOGAMI and PSU.

She moved to Newberg with her friend and companion, GSOC member Jan Kem, in the fall of 2022. She passed away peacefully on May 5, 2024, after a period of declining health.

To read more about Rosemary’s life, go to the GSOC tribute written after her death.