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Clarence Fessler

Clarence FesslerApril 10, 1920 – June 4, 2010

Viewing is set for 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, with rosary at 6 p.m. at Prineville Funeral Home. Funeral mass will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 9, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Prineville; graveside service will follow at Juniper Haven Cemetery. Family and friends will gather for a luncheon at the parish hall following the burial. Also following luncheon all are invited to come to the Cody Harnden home in Powell Butte for more sharing.

Clarence Wilford (William) Fessler, 90, died June 4, 2010, in a Prineville hospital from complications of pneumonia and heart problems. He was born at home April 10, 1920, near La Crosse, Wisc., to Albert Joseph and Elizabeth Elsen Fessler. He grew up working on farms in the Willamette Valley and attended school at Whiskey Hill, Donald, West Woodburn and Champoeg. He married Arleta Dykstra Jan. 7, 1942, in Sherwood. About a month later, he was drafted into the Army to serve in World War II. He shipped out of Camp Roberts, Calif., bound for the South Pacific just days before his first daughter was born back in Pendleton. He served in Australia and New Guinea before returning to Pendleton in 1945. He and his family moved to Condon and worked on a ranch and then moved to Tualatin. In 1948, he began working at Bonk’s Shell station in Tualatin, which he would eventually buy and operate until he was forced to retire in 1975 because of heart problems.

He and Arleta retired to Prineville in 1976, following Clarence’s dream to live close to the Crooked River, where he loved to fish and camp.

Clarence lost his middle daughter, Marcia Anna, after a long battle with leukemia in 1968. He cared for his wife in their home while she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease during the last two years of her life. They had been married 61 years when she died in 2003.

His oldest daughter, Clarene Looney, died of breast cancer, in 2004. He was also preceded in death by his parents, a brother and three sisters. He is survived by his younger brother, Vic Fessler of Beaver Creek; his daughters Jeanne Hummel Hora, Bend; Jerre Lynne Kosta Dodson and husband Sean, and Julie Harnden and husband Jim; all of Prineville; grandchildren George Looney, Philomath; Vicki Menard, Glide; Kathy Moen, Albany; Stacey Hummel, Bend; Shane Hummel, Devin Kosta, Joey Harnden, Brandi Fabbrini and Cody Harnden, all of Prineville; Stephen Harnden, Salem; and Todd Harnden, Nyssa; and 24 great-grand- children.

Clarence never owned a credit card, never got a traffic ticket and only borrowed money twice in his life. He loved children and charmed them as well as animals. He loved to fish, camp and enjoyed a plane trip to Alaska with an old friend. He was a wonderful loving influence in the lives of his children and grandchildren and many others. He will be greatly missed.

Memorial Contributions can be made to the American Heart Association, 1425 NE Irving #100, Portland, OR 97232.

Clarence Fessler

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