Clifton "Duck" Leroy Slack

Clifton "Duck" Leroy Slack, age 94, of Perry, died December 5, 2007 at Upper Perry, Oregon. A funeral service will be held on December 8, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. at Daniels~Knopp Funeral, Cremation & Life Celebration Center, 1502 7th Street in La Grande. A dinner get together for family and friends will be held at Calvary Chapel, 1433 Jefferson, following the committal service at Summerville Cemetery.

Clifton was born to James and Ruia (Tiffany) Slack on January 1, 1913 on a farm north of Summerville and lived there with his family for 10 years before moving into Summerville for two years. He attended Dry Creek School. The family moved to Elgin and he finished 8th grade there. That fall his uncle and he took a pack train of mules over the Blue Mountains to be in the Pendleton Round-up and participate in bronc riding, he never returned to school.

He worked on various ranches throughout Eastern Oregon and also worked for the old Pondosa Pine Lumber company. In 1948 he met Irene (Gentry) Talbott and her three children, Lenore, Franklin and Donna in Elgin, they married in 1949. They moved to the Tyler ranch west of the La Grande Truck Stop and lost 2 sets of twins. In 1950 they moved to Lower Perry. He worked for the Bechtel Brothers Construction for 4 years and then began his 23 years of work for Boise Cascade, retiring at age 65. In about 1955 they moved onto the farm beside the Grande Ronde River at Perry where they raised two more children, Vicki and Teri. There, he was a tree farmer, raised cows, his beloved horses and dogs and every other animal that showed up. He loved to hunt and fish and be outdoors. He could climb over most mountains a head of much younger people into his 80's.

His wife died in 1990 and being alone was very hard but with encouragement from his daughters and a friend he joined the Mavericks and began the sport of team penning, where he did quite well, ending that career at age 87. He loved horses. He broke his first horse at the age of 10 and continued this until the age of 82, which he started for his daughter and helped her finish. At age 83 his daughter and family moved in to help him be able to continue to live on his place. Becoming too ill in December 2006, to be left alone he moved into the guest home up the road of Brenda and Dave Hickey. He was able to come home with his family a couple of times a week or take a drive out to see his beloved horse Nugget. He loved to hunt and at the age of 93 he had two deer tags which he filled while using his walker to get around but being in a guest home he thought hunting was ended. With the help of his daughter and two good friends they took him out for two more hunts and he was able to fill both his tags, taking only one shot for each. He planned a third hunt for cow elk but his health declined and was unable to go, but he dreamed of more hunting in the weeks that followed. "Duck" was a member of the American Legion and was one of the Old Hands at the Haines Rodeo. He participated in team penning in La Grande, Elgin and Union.

He leaves behind his daughter, Vicki McLean and husband, Neil of La Grande and her family; daughter, Teri Walker and her husband, Jeff and their daughter of La Grande; stepdaughter, Lenore Hill and her family of Grangeville, Idaho; stepson, Franklin Mathias and his wife Donna of Seattle; cousin, Fleta Barnhill and her family of Moses Lake, Washington; along with his beloved animals and many good friends and Dave and Brenda Hickey, his caregivers. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Ruia; wife, Irene; sons, Gary and Larry and premature twins; stepdaughter, Donna; grandchildren, Leon and Lucy Irene, his siblings, Clifford, Maudie, Sylvan and Lester; and cousins, Oma and Willard.

Donations in his name can be made to the Blue Mtn. Humane Society or the GRH Hospice.