Martha "Elly" Elisabeth Gorham

Martha Elisabeth "Elly" Gorham, 81, of Anaheim, Calif., and formerly of North Powder, died June 27 at her home. Elly requested that no services be held. Close family and friends were present to pay their last respects to Elly at Riverside National Cemetery on July 7. Her ashes are there in the marble columbarium.

Martha Elisabeth Sziegel was born Nov. 2, 1928, to Stanislaus and Martha Sziegel in Frankfurt, Germany. Elly lived with her parents and brother, Phillip, during the WWII Hitler regime. The family survived starvation, bombings of their home and all the atrocities wartime brings. At the end of the war, she met Noel, a young U.S. Navy sailor stationed in Frankfurt to assist with the great Berlin airlift to provide the devastated German citizens with food and supplies. They fell in love and married in Germany July 20, 1949. The couple moved to America, first to North Powder, then to Holyoke, Mass., then to Port Angeles, Wash., and then to Anaheim, Calif.

Elly was a German warbride, proud of her American citizenship which she earned learning the English language, American history and Constitution of the U.S. She was always a dedicated voter.

Those who knew Elly say she was a hard-working homemaker and military wife. She enjoyed family birthday celebrations with authentic German bratwursts, sauerkraut and cheeses.

Survivors include her husband of 62 years, Noel V. Gorham; daughter, Renee and her husband, Mark Gerber, of Chewelah, Wash.; son, Jeffrey and his wife, Cynthia Gorham or Bowie, Md.; two granddaughters; and one grandson.

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