Robert "Bob" Withycombe

Robert "Bob" Withycombe, 91, died of old age at the Grande Ronde Hospital on Monday, May 19, 2008.

Bob was born on November 2, 1916 at the Eastern Oregon Agriculture Experiment Station in Union, Oregon. His mother, Mabel Elsie Hutchinson Withycombe, was the daughter of Isabel Asbury Hutchinson, and William Hutchinson, who walked the Oregon Trail from Illinois to Oregon with his parents in the mid-1800. Bob's father, Robert Withycombe, was the director of the Experiment Station, and was the son of Oregon Governor James Withycombe.

Bob's father died when Bob was 15 years old. Bob moved his family's possessions in a horse drawn wagon from the Experiment Station to the home of his aunt Dora Hutchinson, on Cove Road in Union, a homestead still occupied by his family. Bob was graduated from Union High School.

Bob attended Oregon State College (now OSU) where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture. During college, Bob was a member of US Army ROTC. He had attained the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army upon graduation from college. He returned to Union County where he began farming his own land on the Cove-Union Highway, and where he drilled cavalry horsemen for the local National Guard unit. When the United States was drawn into World War II, Bob joined the US Navy. He served throughout World War II over the Pacific as a navigator on a PBY4 (B-24) bomber. He left the Navy in April 1946 as a Lieutenant, decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, 2 Air Medals, 2 Navy Unit Citations and 2 Letters of Commendation.

Bob returned again to his farm. After nearly twenty years as a bachelor farmer, he met and married Melba Jongewaard Cater. Although she was city-bred, Bob claimed Melba was the hardest-working farm hand he ever had. Melba preceded Bob in death in 1983.

Bob is survived by his sister Isabel Withycombe Boyd of State College, Pennsylvania; his brother Dr. Jim Withycombe, and wife Elwanda, of San Diego, California; his sister, Carolyn Withycombe Carothers of Satellite Beach, Florida; and his first cousin Lucille Hutchinson Carter, residing at Wildflower Lodge in La Grande. Bob's niece Susan Isabel Boyd is an attorney and farmer on the Union homestead; his niece Elizabeth Withycombe Boyd Gretzler is a loan officer in State College, Pennsylvania; and his nephew Charles Robert Boyd is a retired film editor in Rochester, New York. Bob's niece Virginia Withycombe Bertels is the Head Start Director for Union and Baker Counties; and his nephew Jim Withycombe is a school principal in Detroit, Texas. Bob's nephew Kevin Carothers is an "IT guy" (information technology) in Granada Hills, California. Bob's step-daughter Lona Cater Slivkoff is the owner-operator of Lona Slivkoff Trucking in Grande Ronde Oregon. Bob's great nieces and nephews who have ties to Union County are Dora Boyd Cohen, LHS graduate and University of Idaho Student; Eli Boyd Cohen, EOU student; Katie van Horn Dobner, LHS graduated; Jed van Horn, LHS graduate, and Adam Boyd Kerstetter of State College, Pennsylvania.

Bob's family invites friends to join them in a memorial celebration on Monday, June 2, 2008, at 10 am, at Loveland Funeral Chapel, 1508 Fourth Street, La Grande.