Bensell Lewis Breon Sr., 68, of Burns died on Jan. 7 of natural causes at his home.

He was born  on May 22, 1941, in Corvallis to Lewis Eugene Breon and Mary Alice (Bensell) Breon.

Breon graduated from Siletz High School in 1959 and attended Western Oregon University, graduating with a bachelor of arts.

He married his first wife, Geraldine C. Simpson in 1966. They had one son together. They divorced in 1968.

Breon worked as a logger for Georgia Pacific and was also a school teacher. He taught at Mapleton Elementary School from 1966 to 1967 and at Dayville Junior High School from 1967 to 1972. Soon after, he began his ranching career.

He married his second wife, Marjorie May McVicker, in 1975. They were married until her death in 2008.

In 1979, the couple moved from Dayville to Paulina. They bought and sold a number of ranches before moving to their last home and ranch in Burns just after the turn of the new millennium.

He was a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians as well as a tribal elder.

Breon served on the Siletz Tribal Council, Sacred Lands Committee and Commission on Indian Services.

He was also an Eagle Scout, a member of the Eastern Star, Order of the Ameranth and a member of the Methodist Church in Siletz, where he was baptized.

Breon enjoyed history, hunting and attending auction sales.

He is survived by his son, Bensell L. Breon, Jr. of Siletz; grandchild, Allie Breon; sister, Rosemary Landis and husband Gene of Brightwood; brother, Ronald Lee Smith, Jr. and wife Sandy of Scottsburg; two nephews; three nieces; and several grandnephews and grandnieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents Mary Alice (Bensell) Muncey and Lewis Eugene Breon; and second wife Marjorie (McVicker) Breon.

A service was held on Jan. 14 at the Siletz Tribal Community Center, followed by a final ceremony at the Breon Family Cemetery and a reception at the Tribal Community Center.

Donations may be made to a charity of one’s choice.