Marie Irene Stevens

Marie Irene Stevens, 94, of La Grande, died in her sleep Dec. 7 at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Dorene and Tim McCarthy in La Grande. No funeral service will be held at this time but a memorial service will be held at the family cemetery in Gervais at a later date.

Marie was born July 5, 1915, on a farm in the Badlands near Killdeer, N.D., the fifth of six children to Mabel Bartholamew of Quebec, Canada, and Samuel Reems of North Dakota.

The family lived at the crossroads so in winter when roads were impassable for wagons, their home became a place of midwifery and a funeral home, as her mother attended to both. Her family says Marie grew up in a family that had the time to pass on the skills of survival and secrets of living on less from past generations. Because of the struggles she and her family faced, those who knew her say Marie had a great sense of empathy and was always ready to help others in need.

She was married to Loris "Steve" for over 40 years. They made their home in Portland. Many of their activities included horses, from trail riding to mounted drill teams. Marie rode her horse, Nugget, with the Oregon Ranch Girls Riding club. Steve died in 1984. Some years after, she married Ray Thom. He preceded her in death.

Marie worked for many years as a school teacher in Portland as she had when she taught school in a one-room school house in North Dakota so many years before.

Her daughter, Dorene, took care of Marie for the last 11 years.

Survivors are her children, Dorene and Del; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her sisters, Mildred (Elmer Borstad), Jenny (Hartvick Andersen), and Nellie Mae (Les Fischer); and brothers, Harold (Thelma) and Joseph (Lilly Mae).

.