MT. ANGEL - Orpha Gersch, 91, finished her course in this life on Sunday, August 19. Born Orpha Mae Vaughan on July 26, 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. A survivor of poliomyelitis contracted at age seven, Orpha graduated from Glenville High School in 1939, and married Alvin Fridley in 1940. In 1947, Al, Orpha and their two small children left Cleveland and moved to Burbank, California, where Orpha owned a nursery school, was a Scout and Campfire Girl leader. In 1956 the family moved to Van Nuys, California, and Orpha worked at Capitol Records in Hollywood. In 1965, Orpha and Al celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, and in 1966 Al succumbed to cancer.
In 1971, Orpha married Vincent Gersch. Vincent, born in Crooked Finger, Oregon, was a Marine Corps pilot in WW2 and continued government work as a mail carrier. Soon they moved to Milwaukie, Oregon, where Orpha worked in real estate and had her own business. Eventually they bought a motor home and traveled around the continental United States for several years. Their love of travel also took them outside the country on visits to Germany, Australia, Saipan and Hawai'i.
Fourteen years ago, Orpha and Vincent settled down at The Towers in Mt. Angel, Oregon, where they were elected King and Queen of The Towers two years in a row. Last year Orpha and Vincent celebrated their 90th birthdays as well as their 40th wedding anniversary.
Orpha is survived by her daughter, Rev. Barbara Fridley Ripple, Hawai'i; her son, Dr. Alan Keith Fridley (Rosemary Hoskins), in Australia; nine grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. Orpha is also survived by a brother, David Jordan Vaughan (Brigitte) in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A celebration of Orpha's life will be held on Wednesday, August 29, in the auditorium of The Towers in Mt. Angel. Visitation at 1:30 p.m., service at 2:00 p.m. and reception at 3:00 p.m. Please, no flowers. Inurnment will be at Crooked Finger Cemetery. Donations may be made in Orpha's memory to Willamette Valley Hospice www.wvh.org or the UNICEF Global Polio Eradication Initiative www.polioeradication.org.
Published in the Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal on August 26, 2012.
In 1971, Orpha married Vincent Gersch. Vincent, born in Crooked Finger, Oregon, was a Marine Corps pilot in WW2 and continued government work as a mail carrier. Soon they moved to Milwaukie, Oregon, where Orpha worked in real estate and had her own business. Eventually they bought a motor home and traveled around the continental United States for several years. Their love of travel also took them outside the country on visits to Germany, Australia, Saipan and Hawai'i.
Fourteen years ago, Orpha and Vincent settled down at The Towers in Mt. Angel, Oregon, where they were elected King and Queen of The Towers two years in a row. Last year Orpha and Vincent celebrated their 90th birthdays as well as their 40th wedding anniversary.
Orpha is survived by her daughter, Rev. Barbara Fridley Ripple, Hawai'i; her son, Dr. Alan Keith Fridley (Rosemary Hoskins), in Australia; nine grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. Orpha is also survived by a brother, David Jordan Vaughan (Brigitte) in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A celebration of Orpha's life will be held on Wednesday, August 29, in the auditorium of The Towers in Mt. Angel. Visitation at 1:30 p.m., service at 2:00 p.m. and reception at 3:00 p.m. Please, no flowers. Inurnment will be at Crooked Finger Cemetery. Donations may be made in Orpha's memory to Willamette Valley Hospice www.wvh.org or the UNICEF Global Polio Eradication Initiative www.polioeradication.org.
Published in the Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal on August 26, 2012.
MT. ANGEL - Orpha Gersch, 91, finished her course in this life on Sunday, August 19. Born Orpha Mae Vaughan on July 26, 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. A survivor of poliomyelitis contracted at age seven, Orpha graduated from Glenville High School in 1939, and married Alvin Fridley in 1940. In 1947, Al, Orpha and their two small children left Cleveland and moved to Burbank, California, where Orpha owned a nursery school, was a Scout and Campfire Girl leader. In 1956 the family moved to Van Nuys, California, and Orpha worked at Capitol Records in Hollywood. In 1965, Orpha and Al celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, and in 1966 Al succumbed to cancer.
In 1971, Orpha married Vincent Gersch. Vincent, born in Crooked Finger, Oregon, was a Marine Corps pilot in WW2 and continued government work as a mail carrier. Soon they moved to Milwaukie, Oregon, where Orpha worked in real estate and had her own business. Eventually they bought a motor home and traveled around the continental United States for several years. Their love of travel also took them outside the country on visits to Germany, Australia, Saipan and Hawai'i.
Fourteen years ago, Orpha and Vincent settled down at The Towers in Mt. Angel, Oregon, where they were elected King and Queen of The Towers two years in a row. Last year Orpha and Vincent celebrated their 90th birthdays as well as their 40th wedding anniversary.
Orpha is survived by her daughter, Rev. Barbara Fridley Ripple, Hawai'i; her son, Dr. Alan Keith Fridley (Rosemary Hoskins), in Australia; nine grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. Orpha is also survived by a brother, David Jordan Vaughan (Brigitte) in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A celebration of Orpha's life will be held on Wednesday, August 29, in the auditorium of The Towers in Mt. Angel. Visitation at 1:30 p.m., service at 2:00 p.m. and reception at 3:00 p.m. Please, no flowers. Inurnment will be at Crooked Finger Cemetery. Donations may be made in Orpha's memory to Willamette Valley Hospice www.wvh.org or the UNICEF Global Polio Eradication Initiative www.polioeradication.org.
Published in the Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal on August 26, 2012.
In 1971, Orpha married Vincent Gersch. Vincent, born in Crooked Finger, Oregon, was a Marine Corps pilot in WW2 and continued government work as a mail carrier. Soon they moved to Milwaukie, Oregon, where Orpha worked in real estate and had her own business. Eventually they bought a motor home and traveled around the continental United States for several years. Their love of travel also took them outside the country on visits to Germany, Australia, Saipan and Hawai'i.
Fourteen years ago, Orpha and Vincent settled down at The Towers in Mt. Angel, Oregon, where they were elected King and Queen of The Towers two years in a row. Last year Orpha and Vincent celebrated their 90th birthdays as well as their 40th wedding anniversary.
Orpha is survived by her daughter, Rev. Barbara Fridley Ripple, Hawai'i; her son, Dr. Alan Keith Fridley (Rosemary Hoskins), in Australia; nine grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. Orpha is also survived by a brother, David Jordan Vaughan (Brigitte) in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A celebration of Orpha's life will be held on Wednesday, August 29, in the auditorium of The Towers in Mt. Angel. Visitation at 1:30 p.m., service at 2:00 p.m. and reception at 3:00 p.m. Please, no flowers. Inurnment will be at Crooked Finger Cemetery. Donations may be made in Orpha's memory to Willamette Valley Hospice www.wvh.org or the UNICEF Global Polio Eradication Initiative www.polioeradication.org.
Published in the Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal on August 26, 2012.
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