Great Grandma, Barbara Gene Arthur, passed away October 11, 2012. She was genuinely one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Chad has always spoken so fondly of both Barbara and Les, they are a huge part of who he is. The first time I met Barbara she told me about the loss of her mother at a young age. We talked about how hard it is to live with out your mom. I also remember her telling the story of how she and Les met at a dance. What I learned this past weekend is they were married a MONTH later! Chad will always cherish his memories of spending summers on the farm with his grandparents. We took the kids out to the farm while we were in Roseburg. It was nice to see the place he's talked about for so long.
Obitiuary
Barbara Gene Arthur passed away October 11, 2012, in Tualatin, OR. Born April 7, 1923 in Huntington Park, CA to Robert E. and Birdye (Watts) Hampton. Due to her mother’s death in 1931 from a heart condition, Barbara and her younger brother were raised by their maternal grandparents. She graduated from Placentia High School in 1941, attended college until WWII began when she obtained employment as a civilian in the Air Force. While on vacation in 1945 she met Leslie Arthur, who had just returned from the war, at a grange dance in Goshen, OR and were married a month later on November 29, 1945. They moved to Valley Falls, KS for a short time where they owned The Coffee Cup CafĂ© before returning to Dorena, OR. When the Booth Kelly mill in Dorena closed down in 1958, she brushed up on her secretarial skills and obtained employment at Roseburg Lumber. In 1959, she went to work for the VA Hospital and retired in 1983. She and Les enjoyed 66 years of marriage before he passed away in March 2012. Barbara set the example for kindness and thoughtfulness. Her life was spent putting the needs of others before her own. With her high energy and organizational skills, she canned fruits and veggies from the farm along with hosting a houseful of relatives/friends during the summer in addition to her full time job. When she sat down, there was always a knitting or crocheting project beside her chair or she was writing letters to friends and family. When her girls were small, she sewed all their clothes on a treadle sewing machine. She loved the farm animals and even had a pet baby goat. Barbara was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and her love and devotion to her family was unlimited. She will be dearly missed.
