Obituaries: Clydia Grace “Dee” Thissell Dobson
Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, April 17, 2007
- Obituaries: Clydia Grace "Dee" Thissell Dobson
Nov. 29, 1949 – April 13, 2007
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Clydia Grace “Dee” Thissell Dobson died on April 13, 2007, at her home in Seneca. She was 57.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2007, at the Seneca City Hall, followed by a potluck dinner.
Ms. Dobson was born on Nov. 29, 1949, in Prairie City to Clyde and Zora (Lantz) Thissell. She attended grade school in Seneca, where she became a champion jump roper. She was active in 4-H and Rainbow girls, as well. She went to Grant Union and Burns high schools.
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Ms. Dobson held a variety of jobs through the years, including waitressing at the historic Arrowhead Hotel and Restaurant. She owned and ran Murphy’s Tavern for several years. She worked on the fire camp crew for the Burns Paiute Tribe. She piled brush, worked as a flagger on the Oregon coast, and at Grant Western Lumber Mill in John Day. She also tended bar at the Seneca tavern for a time. As her health declined, she took on her most important and enjoyable job, caring for her grandchildren.
Ms. Dobson enjoyed spending time with her daughters, her grandchildren and her Chow dogs. She spent many happy times with them all camping, arrowhead hunting, beach combing and sharing with them her love and her knowledge of the natural world. She also spent a lot of time traveling to new places as well as old.
Ms. Dobson was a free spirit, full of life and a passion for the outdoors. She had a remarkable ability for establishing lasting friendships and creating fun wherever she was. She packed a great deal of living into her 57 years.
She is survived by her husband, Bruce Sam; daughters, Deangela Tashina Dobson, and Desiree Willow Sam, both of Burns; five grandchildren, Esperansa, Dakota, Aundraya, Joaquin and Tempest Grace; her mother, Zora Thissell, of Prineville; sisters, Donna Harper, of Roundup, Mont.; Fern Thissell, of Burns; Catherine Gurba, of St. Petersburg, Fla.; Arbetta Masters, of Monroe, Wisc.; Glenna Jordan of Prineville; brother, Harley Munger, of Crescent City, Calif.; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
In 1977, Ms. Dobson suffered a great tragedy when her little daughter, Leah Arie Sutton, drowned in the Silvies River two days after her second birthday. She was also preceded in death by her father in 1986.
Memorial contributions can be made to Clydia Thissell Dobson Memorial Fund at any U.S. Bank or through Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845.