Bertha (Bert) Claudine Langston Leach died on Sunday, April 21, following a lengthy illness.

Bert was born Nov. 6, 1931, in Dongola, Ill., to Clyde and Syna Langston.

In 1950 she met the love of her life, Bill Leach, and they were married April 6, 1951. They shared a breath-taking life together. They were married for 62 years and raised five children together.

Bert worked in restaurants and bars after moving to Burns in 1973 with her husband and three of their children; Scott, Gigi and John. Belinda arrived in 1973 and Debbie came along in 1977. Bert always enjoyed having her family close. She enjoyed working in her yard and creating floral arrangements for weddings and graduations.

Bert loved her husband with her every breath, good or bad, along with all her children and grandchildren, and anyone else who happened to need a smile, or a slap, she was always there. She may have only been 4 feet 9 inches tall, with fire engine-red hair, but she had the heart of a giant and was the love of our lives.

Bert is survived by her husband, Bill; sons, Scott Leach of Madras and John Leach of Burns; daughters, Debbie Boren and husband Tom of Hines, Belinda Garatea and husband Jodi of Oregon City and Gigi Black of Hines; 22 grandchildren and countless great-grandchildren; and lifelong friends, BC and Mary Ray.

Bert came from a large family of 16 brothers and sisters, including Roberta Perkins and husband Neal of La Pine and Evelyn Wilson and husband Ray of Illinois, and was preceded in death by all the others and her parents.

Bert’s family will be holding a potluck celebration of life from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Valley Golf Club in Hines. The family invites everyone who knew Bert to attend and celebrate her life. Donations may be made in her name to the Kids Club of Harney County or to Eastern Oregon Academy.

Frankie May Dunn Adams, 95, of Lake Oswego, formerly of Burns, Tucson, Ariz., and Albany, died April 8 at The Pearl of Kruse Way.

Frankie was a delight to all who knew her. Her wit and unique sense of style made her a wonderful person to know. She loved to write, travel, read, and learn new activities.

Frankie was born May 14, 1917, in Burns, the daughter of Phillip and Elfie (Stafford) Dunn, and was raised on a cattle ranch in Harney County. After graduating from Crane Boarding School, she moved to Eugene in 1937 and later attended business school in Portland. She joined the Civil Air Patrol in 1942 with a desire to fly aircraft.

Following the Civil Air Patrol, she met Wilbur (Bill) Adams of Eugene. They married in 1947 and moved to California, then Arizona where they both worked at Hughes Aircraft. Frankie and Bill lived in Tuscon and Lake Montezuma, Ariz., for most of their life together.

Frankie and Bill were among the first to purchase a Winnebago motorhome, and they traveled to all 50 states, Canada and areas south of the border. During their retirement years, they had the opportunity to work for several years in national parks, including Yellowstone National Park, as seasonal managers.

Frankie is survived by a sister, Edith (Allie) Roberts of Milwaukie; and a brother, Thomas Dunn of Creswell. Many nieces, nephews and extended family mourn her passing.

Frankie was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bill; and five brothers and sisters.

Contributions may be made in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Association for research at alz.org. Fisher Funeral Home is handling arrangements. The family is honoring her wishes for no memorial service.

Robert “Bob” Ancil Rayne, 87, died Saturday, April 13, at a Meridian, Idaho, care facility of natural causes.

Bob was born Oct. 12, 1925, to Pearl and Ancil Rayne in Caldwell, Idaho. He graduated from Middleton High School in 1943 and immediately after joined the U.S. Navy during World War II.

In 1948, he married Ella Mae Ashcraft, and they had two sons, Larry and Harland Rayne.

In his younger days, Bob enjoyed rollerskating and flying airplanes. He wanted to become a commercial airline pilot, but wasn’t able to because he couldn’t pass the color test. He did, however, continue to fly small airplanes for fun.

Bob worked for Nishitani Gardens in Caldwell during high school and again after he got out of the service. After various jobs such as driving a bread truck and owning a service station, he moved to Oregon where he logged for himself and the Edward Hines Lumber Company in Hines. Eventually, he made his way back home to Middleton where he teamed up with his brothers, Tommy and Jerry, and ran the lumber portion of Rayne and Seal Enterprise in Nampa, Idaho. Middleton became his home for the rest of his life.

In 1968, Bob married Ruth Pickering, and they had one daughter, Roberta. Later in life he enjoyed gardening, and always enjoyed going for drives. Roberta remembers going for drives almost daily while growing up. Sometimes only to Caldwell, sometimes to Emmett, Idaho, but they always enjoyed taking the back roads and enjoying the scenery.

Bob is survived by his wife, Ruth; son, Harland Rayne; daughter, Roberta Wells; grandson, Darby Rayne; granddaughters, Morgan and Lauren Fisher; siblings, Ardith Tepfer, Ted Rayne, Marilynn (Hittie) Young, Cheryl (Dude) Williams and Sandy Watson; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by parents, Ancil and Pearl; son, Larry; sisters, June, Ellen and Shirley; and brothers, Billy, Jerry, Jimmy and Tommy.

Bob loved his family more than anything else. He especially had a soft spot in his heart for his granddaughters, Morgan and Lauren. He always enjoyed family functions and visiting people. He always had a smile and a positive outlook on life.

Graveside services were held April 22 at Middleton Cemetery under the direction of Dakan Funeral Chapel. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.dakanfuneralchapel.com

Holly (Hogan) Unrein, 51, died at her home Feb. 28, from complications of severe COPD.

Holly was born Dec. 30, 1961, to Shirley and James Hogan of Salem.

Holly was a beyond fantastic mother, grandmother, wife, sister, daughter, aunt and mentor. She was always so very proud of her grandbabies. They were her pride and joy.

She loved beading and Farmville. Her daughetr introduced her to Facebook, and she was hooked. Family was always her number one priority. She would always take care of them before herself. She cherished every one of her friends. She was always the life of the party.

The loss of her is deeply heart-breaking, but she is now with the many other family and friends who have passed before her.

Following a short illness, Agustin Andueza, 87, died April 5 in Portland.

Agustin was born March 15, 1926, in Lesaka, Navarra, Spain.

He was the 11th of 15 children born to Jose Andueza and Antonia Larralde, joining seven brothers and seven sisters.  Agustin lived a difficult life as a child. He grew up extremely poor, getting his first job herding sheep on a neighboring farm at the tender young age of 8, when his mother was widowed with 15 kids. Agustin would return home once a month to give all of his earnings to his mother.

After serving two years in the Spanish Army, Agustin came to America in June 1951 at the age of 25 to work in the sheep industry. Having spent several years working in the California and Nevada mountains, Agustin moved to Oregon in 1960, where he was the sheep foreman for Allied Corporation in Harney County. In 1961, he returned to the Basque country and married Juanita Sanzberro.

In 1962, their first son, Eugenio, was born, followed by daughter, Ana Isabel, in 1963. In 1967, Agustin brought his family to Burns, and daughter, Rosa Yvette, was born the following year.  Agustin spent the next 24 years working for the Edward Hines Lumber Company. Agustin always worked very hard and made many sacrifices in his own life to ensure that his family would not have to endure the same poverty and suffering as he did. He truly was an example of having lived “The American Dream.” Furthermore, he served as a surrogate father to several of his nephews, as well as many other recently arrived young Basque immigrants, as these young men found themselves in a new country, facing a new culture and a new language. Agustin supported them financially, as well as emotionally, as they adjusted to life in America.

On many Sundays, after attending church, Agustin would take the family to the Plaza Hotel (formerly located across from Safeway) to spend the day with friends eating, drinking, singing, dancing, playing “Mus” (Basque poker) and telling countless stories about the old days in sheep camp. Before going home for the evening, Agustin would always do a drive-by of the Star Hotel (another Basque boarding house located in Burns on Alder Street) for a nightcap or two, and to visit with more friends.

Every summer, Agustin would take the family on vacation to visit relatives in California, and/or attend Basque festivals in Nevada where he would compete as a wood chopper, often beating much younger competitors. While he didn’t always win, he consistently performed well enough to collect some prize money and be invited to return the following year.

Agustin was known for his generosity, both in terms of time and money, when it came to helping others. He could often be seen mowing a neighbor’s yard, shoveling their snow or helping friends with carpentry or ranch work. Agustin was also known to have given away tons of fresh produce from his immaculate gardens to anyone who asked or who just simply stopped by to visit.

Agustin enjoyed his retirement years working in the garden, fishing and occasionally traveling back to Spain. Agustin loved nothing more than being in the company of family and good friends, enjoying a glass of red wine, playing cards with friends and telling stories until the wee hours of the morning.

Agustin is survived by his wife of 51 years, Juanita, of Burns; son, Geno, of Eugene; daughters, Ana of Portland and Rosie of Boise, Idaho; and four grandchildren,  Oyana, Maya, Sebastian and Olivia. He is also survived by three siblings in Spain, brother, Jose Antonio Andueza; and sisters, Carmen Andueza and Tere Andueza Tellerria; as well as numerous nieces and nephews throughout the United States, Spain and France.

Olive Ruth Cooley Fleener died March 27.

Olive was born May 27, 1920, to Merrick and Ruth Cooley in Alturas, Calif. She was the seventh child of eight.

Her mother, Ruth, passed away during childbirth when she was 3 years old. She eventually went to live with her sister, Blanche Dunn, who raised her as a daughter.

She spent her younger days in Oregon, enjoying the outdoors, playing on “the ranch,” and hunting for arrowheads.

Olive married Medley Irwin Fleener, and they lived in many locations throughout the western United States. From this union they had three children, Ernest, C. Carmen and Shannon. Olive loved her family and worked a variety of jobs to care for them.

She was devoted to reading and studying the Bible on a regular basis. Olive always had a love for art, the outdoors, gardening, and had a personal flair that was only hers.

Olive is survived by her son, Ernest (Dot) Fleener of Texas; sons-in-law, Tom Tiffany and Larry Bouck; grandchildren, Bonnie Vaughn, Shelley Christensen, DeAnn Jansen, Sean Fleener, Ernie Fleener, Leslie Wardlaw, Senta Sandburg, Kyle Tiffany and Patrick Tiffany; niece and special friend, Mavis Oard; as well as several nieces, nephews and great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, “Irwin” Fleener; and her daughters, Carmen and Shannon.

Contributions in Olive Fleener’s memory may be made to the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center, in care of LaFollette’s Chapel, P.O. Box 488, Burns, OR. 97720.

Lawrence (Larry) N. Olson, 64, a former resident of Burns, died on Feb. 8 in Albany.

Larry was born in Burns on April 21, 1948 to Vernon A. Olson and Norma Jean Vignery-Olson.

Larry grew up in Burns and started his family in Harney County. Larry had many jobs in Harney County, whatever work he could find to help his young wife support their growing family. He worked as a farm hand and on the railroad. He also worked at the Burns Police Department while in training to be a police officer in the mid-1970s.  Larry left Burns at the end of the 70s when he was in his early 30s.

Larry was an avid outdoors man. He enjoyed hunting and camping, but his true passion was trapping and fishing. Larry became a commercial fisherman later on in life. He fished on a boat on the northern coast and later fished on a boat out of Newport.

Larry was a loving father, and enjoyed spending time with his first grandson, Tanner.

Larry is survived by two daughters, Abba Forest of Warrenton and Katie Dale of Klamath Falls; sister, Kristin Lee; two brothers, Bud and Brian Olson of Albany; two sons-in-law; and one grandson.

Larry was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Lawrence E. Olson and Abba M. Olson of Burns; his maternal grandparents, Noel Vignery and Viola Vignery; his parents, Vernon A. Olson and Norma  Jean Olson.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, at the Fishermen’s  Memorial in Newport.