‘Gene’ Bennett

O’Brien resident Eugene John “Gene” Bennett, 72, died at home Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008. No service is planned. Chapel of the Valley - L.B. Hall Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Mr. Bennett was born March 15, 1935 in River Falls, Wis. to Howard & Violet (Fasbender) Bennett. He served in the U.S. Navy during 1953, and in 1955 moved to Brookings, Ore., where he worked in various jobs and raised his family. In 1980, he moved to Illinois Valley and worked for Westbrook Logging. He also owned and operated the former O’Brien Tavern for approximately 10 years, retiring in 1991.

On Feb. 20, 2004, he married Mary (Newman) Wright, who survives. They were together for 21 years. Bennett was a member of Illinois Valley Senior Center in Cave Junction. He enjoyed fixing old cars and being with friends.

Besides his wife, survivors are one son, Eugene John George Howard Bennett, of Myrtle Point, Ore.; three daughters, Pamela Imhoff, of Renton, Wash., Joni Bennett and Robin Scruggs, both of Medford; two stepsons, Ronald Quinn, of Battle Ground, Wash., Dennis Newman, of Texas; a brother, Patrick Bennett, of Wisconsin; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

‘Berle’ McTimmonds

Leland “Berle” McTimmonds, 89, of Grants Pass, died Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 at an assisted-living residence in Grants Pass. Visitation and a funeral were held Saturday, Feb. 2 at Fairview Mennonite Church in Albany.

Interment followed at Fairview Mennonite Cemetery. A memorial service in Grants Pass will be held at a later date. Remembrances may be made to Parkinson Resources of Oregon, 3975 Mercantile Drive-Suite 154, Lake Oswego OR 97035. Condolences may be made to the family at www.since1928hull.com.

Mr. McTimmons was born on Jan. 18, 1919 in Hubbard, Ore. to Elmer & Clysta McTimmonds. As a child, he moved with his family to Portland, Ore. On Feb. 23, 1941 in Albany he married Florence Roth. In 1955 he moved to Grants Pass, and with Max Yoder began M&Y Lumber in Selma, which he owned and operated until 2004.

Also in 1955 Mr. McTimmons furnished the lumber, and his father built the Grants Pass Mennonite Church, of which he was a charter member. He continued his membership his entire life. For the church he served as a Sunday school teacher and sang in a men’s quartet.

In 1999 he moved to Albany, where he lived for two years until the death of his wife, at which time he returned to Grants Pass. His hobbies included fishing at Rainie Falls on the Rogue River, and reading.

Surviving are a daughter, Marsha Lovejoy, of Cave Junction; a son, Terry McTimmonds, of Snohomish, Wash.; two sisters, Iris Berkey, of Salem, and Sara Chupp, of McMinnville; four grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

Shirley W. Jonas

Grants Pass resident Shirley Wilson Jonas, 82, died at home Jan. 28, 2008 after a long illness. A memorial service and interment of ashes will be conducted in July in Williamston, Mich.

Mrs. Jonas was born Jan. 28, 1926 in Lansing, Mich. She married William Watts in 1946 and they divorced the next year. She wed Raphael Snowden in 1956; he died in 1965. She married Bernard von Plessen Jonas in 1966; he died in 1994.

She founded Barrie Parapsychological Associates in Barrie, Ontario; and Michigan Society of Psychical Research in Lansing. She also established The Winnower, a booking agency for psychic fairs and speakers, in Michigan and California.

Mrs. Jonas authored two published nonfiction books, Ghosts of the Klondike, and Now Is The Hour. Her studies of archeology, genealogy and American Indian culture brought lifelong international friends into her life. She moved to Grants Pass in 2002.

Surviving are her brother, Tom Wilson, of Ava, Mo.; a sister, Frances Turney, of Grants Pass; two sons, Harry Snowden, of Selma, and Anthony Watts, of Coarsegold, Calif.; a daughter, Winifred Green, of Coalhurst, Alberta, Canada; three stepchildren, Yvonne Roth, Bruce Jonas and Max Jonas, all of Ohio; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. A daughter, Leslie Wyman, of Grants Pass, died in September 2007.

Grants Pass Funeral Alternatives is in charge of arrangements.

Memorial donations can be made to Lovejoy Hospice, or Josephine County Humane Society.