Hilda Dorothy (Jones) McCumber

LA GRANDE  Hilda Dorothy (Jones) McCumber, 99, died Feb. 7 at Wildflower Lodge in La Grande. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Baker City. A celebration of life will be held in the spring.

Mrs. McCumber was born Oct. 31, 1913, in Baker City, to Robert and Mary (Gilkison) Jones. She attended elementary school at one-room schoolhouses in towns such as Sparta, New Bridge and Keating. She attended Baker High School for two years, but was forced to quit after her fathers death.

She married Frank Avery Dick McCumber on June 19, 1933, in Baker. They lived on a ranch in Sparta, and in Milton-Freewater, Baker and Union, and in 1950, they moved to Mt. Vernon.

A devoted wife and mother, she was active in the community, she was involved in the Mt. Vernon Grange, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Grant County Womens Bowling League, Mt. Vernon PTA and the Degree of Honor Protective Association. Her hobbies included bowling, gardening, camping and reading.

She worked for various facilities as a cook: the J Bar L Guest Ranch, Blue Mountain Hospital, and U.S. Forest Service summer camps. Much of her career was spent working for the Forest Service, where she retired several times before actually leaving her job.

Survivors include her daughter, Millie I. (Bob) McCumber Hickerson Butler; sons, Roger A. (Janet) McCumber, Lyle A. (Linda) McCumber and Robert B. (Charlotte) McCumber; 14 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; and several great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Avery Dick McCumber; son, Neil A. McCumber; and two infant great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Wildflower Lodge through Grays West & Company, Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.