Leslie Kenneth Arthur

Leslie Kenneth Arthur, age 92, passed away on March 23, 2012. He was born on February 23, 1920, in Ozawkie, Kansas to Paul B and Clara C ( Dittemore) Arthur, the fifth of six children. They Farmed in Kansas until the Great Depression forced them to move to Oregon in 1937 to find work. He milked cows on a dairy and logged in the Oregon City, Oregon area before moving to Dorena, Oregon. He servce in WWII in the Army Artillery, landing in Normandy, France on D-Day and Fighting at the Battle of the Bulge. Shortly after returning to Dorena after the war, he met Barbara Gene Hampton from Southern California at a grange hall dance in Goshen, Oregon. They married a few months later on November 29, 1945 and moved to Valley Falls, Kansas. He owned a caf for several years and first daughter, Carol Lynn was born. They relocated back to Dorena where he went to work for Booth Kelly Lumber and second daughter, Jean, was born. When the mill closed in 1958, they relocated to Roseburg, Oregon where he worked in mills, owned a caf, and then went to work for the VA Hospital. He retired as a supervisor in the power plant. Retirement provided an opportunity to turn his love of hunting and fishing into a summer job when purchased a commercial fishing boat and salmon fished out of Winchester Bay, Oregon. He could fix anything from toy tractor tires to big tractor engines. There wasn't a home repair he couldn't do from electrical to plumbing, building shops and barns to repairing cars and trucks. He took flying lessons when he was young. Not letting new technology pass him by, he bought a computer in his late 80's and used it daily. His grandchildren have so many wonderful memories of spending time with Grandma and Grandpa on the farm from sitting in his chair with him watching cartoons to riding three wheelers at the sand dunes at Horsfalls. When the grandchildren came to visit, his focus was always on them and their current interests. He will always hold a very special place in their hearts. He is preceded in death by all five siblings. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Barbara; daughter Carol (Ron) Beamer, Roseburg; and Jean (Vern) Pittman, Tigard, OR; grandchildren Todd (Lisa) Pittman, Forest Grove, OR; Chad (Leslie) Pittman, Bellevue, WA; and Amy McDannel, Sandy, OR; great grandchildren Gage and Jake Pittman, Blake and Lauren Pittman, and Sophie Vaughn, Aleah Austin and Tanner McDannel.