Ruth Townsend

Ruth Townsend, 68, of Baker City, died May 17 at her home.

A traditional funeral service was held this morning at the Christian Church on Highway 7 in Baker City.

A reception followed. Burial will be held at 2 p.m. at Cove Cemetery.

Ruth was born Aug. 2, 1941, the oldest of eight children to John and Lucille Harmon in St Louis. The family moved to Tacoma, Wash., Doris, Wash., and then to Hermiston where she graduated from Hermiston High School.

She married Malcolm Townsend July 28, 1957, and had three children, Malcolm (Sonny), Mike and Mark Townsend.

They lived in Hermiston for a short time then moved to Cove where they lived for 30 years.

Ruth and Malcolm relocated back to Eastern Oregon in Baker City after Ruth accepted a job with Baker B.E.G.I.N. (Baker Enterprise Growth Initiative). They loved the community and planned to spend their retirement years in Baker City.

Ruth attended La Grande College of Business and received an associate's degree in business.

She worked a variety of jobs. The most rewarding involved her development of the Sun Rose family brand of fruit and her work with the Baker B.E.G.I.N. program, mentoring businesses.

Ruth developed many close friends through her contacts with the Baker Begin program and Baker Christian church.

She loved her immediate and church families dearly. She was overwhelmed by the care and concern extended to her during her difficult battle with cancer.

Ruth enjoyed tending to her flower garden and kept her business interests alive with her eBay store.

She loved the companionship of her two puppies, Duchess and Sheena.

She is survived by her husband, Malcolm Townsend; two sisters, Myra Hall and Mary Jane Sletton; three brothers, Rex Harmon, Paul

Harmon and Peter Harmon; sons, Malcolm (Sonny) Townsend, Mike Townsend and Mark Townsend; seven grandchildren; and 14 great-grand children.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Rollie Harmon; and sister, Barbara Harmon.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Christian Church building fund in care of Tami's Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway 97834.

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