Leo R. Goebel

Leo R. Goebel, 77, died March 28, at his home near Joseph. Leo was buried March 29 on the family property on Bear Creek near Wallowa after a private memorial service.

He was born June 14, 1931, at the family home on Bear Creek, near Wallowa, and attended grade school and high school in Wallowa. Leo served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War where he was stationed at Misawa Air Base in Japan. He then attended the University of Oregon where he met and married Marilyn Purkey of Coquille in 1957. He taught high school math and science in Wallowa for one year before returning to the U of O to obtain a master's degree in geology. The family then moved to Joseph, where Leo taught high school math, science and forestry for 15 years, while also logging in his spare time. In 1979 he retired from teaching and started logging full-time.

Leo was well-known for his dedication to forestry. He and his business partner, Bob Jackson, spent more than three decades teaching sustainable forest management on their Alder Slope tree farm near Enterprise. Leo was active in the Wallowa County Small Woodlands Association. He and Bob Jackson were named "Oregon Tree Farmers of the Year" in 1984 and again in 1991. In 1992, he and Bob were named "Western Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers" by the American Forest Council. Leo and Bob, along with other Wallowa County residents, appeared in a recent OPB documentary "The Oregon Story: Rethinking Our Forests." Leo and Bob were privileged to host teachers and students from all over the U.S. and several foreign countries at the tree farm. Many of these tours were coordinated by Wallowa Resources.

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Goebel, of Joseph; and his five children and their families: Sally Goebel of Wallowa, Patti Goebel of Everett, Wash., Mary (Goebel) and her husband, Mark Adams, of Rogue River, Ed and his wife, Denise Goebel, of Heppner and Katie (Goebel) and Natalie Summerlin of Corvallis; brothers, Harold and Jack of Wallowa; and numerous nieces and nephews. Leo was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Kate (Johnson) Goebel; his sister, Geraldine Marie Wiecks; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Kate Johnson Goebel Scholarship Fund, in care of the Wallowa School Foundation, 179 Highway 82, Lostine 97857, or any other Wallowa County nonprofit organization.

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