Esther Alena Spurgeon, died on Oct. 15, 2011. She was 86.
Esther was born March 14, 1925, in North Bend, Ore., the granddaughter of Finnish immigrants Alexander and Fredricka Matson who settled on Catching Slough in the 1880's. Her parents, Ernest and Lena Forslund, raised their four children in Delmar where she had fond memories of their small family farm life.
In 1942, she gave birth to a baby boy who was adopted as an infant. This painful decision was one she never spoke of again. Following graduation from Marshfield High School in 1943, she worked at the First National Bank in Coos Bay and waited for Archie Lee Spurgeon, the natural father of her baby, to return from war in the South Pacific.
She married Archie in 1945, a union that lasted 65 years until his death in 2010. The secret about their firstborn was revealed in 2009 when John J. Frye located the couple through county records and was reunited with his parents and the three sisters he had never met. The reunion was bittersweet but filled with joy as we loved our brother immediately, sharing life stories and meeting new family members.
Esther was the quintessential homemaker. She loved preparing nutritious meals, creating gifts, home décor and clothing. She seldom sat still, happily feeding the birds, gardening, searching for mushrooms or discovering a wild blackberry patch on an old logging road for her delicious pies. She adored swimming holes, picnics, sitting around a campfire, exploring the back roads, long walks, animals and babies. When grandchildren and great-grandchildren arrived, she was eager to take them to the "Duck Swing Park" at Mingus Park and watch them play at the sand dunes and beaches.
Esther volunteered with local organizations including the election board, PTA, Bluebirds and Camp Fire Girls and was a member of Home Extension, and the Craft Guild. During the late 1940s through the 1970s, she looked forward to her weekly bowling league.
She proudly served as a volunteer at the Bay Area hospital for 25 years until Alzheimer's changed the direction of her life but not her lively spirit. She was a cheerful resident with a keen sense of humor and spunk at Lakeview Senior Living in Lincoln City the past two years. The family is deeply grateful for the compassionate care and love our mother received from the Lakeview Memory Garden staff and Samaritan Home Health Hospice during her illness.
Her gentle disposition, kindness and devotion to family and friends will be dearly missed by all including her brother Carl Forslund of Silverdale, Wash.; children John J. Frye of Bend, Ore., Zenda Treaster of Mesa, Ariz., Kathryn Fernandez of Neskowin, Janet Groefsema of University Place, Wash., and their extended families.
A chapel funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Coos Bay Chapel 685 Anderson Ave. with Pastor Don Berney of New Beginnings Christian Fellowship, Coos Bay officiating. A reception will follow in the Coos Bay Chapel reception room. Burial will be held at Ocean View Memory Gardens 1525 Ocean Boulevard, Coos Bay.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or the Oregon Humane Society.
Esther was born March 14, 1925, in North Bend, Ore., the granddaughter of Finnish immigrants Alexander and Fredricka Matson who settled on Catching Slough in the 1880's. Her parents, Ernest and Lena Forslund, raised their four children in Delmar where she had fond memories of their small family farm life.
In 1942, she gave birth to a baby boy who was adopted as an infant. This painful decision was one she never spoke of again. Following graduation from Marshfield High School in 1943, she worked at the First National Bank in Coos Bay and waited for Archie Lee Spurgeon, the natural father of her baby, to return from war in the South Pacific.
She married Archie in 1945, a union that lasted 65 years until his death in 2010. The secret about their firstborn was revealed in 2009 when John J. Frye located the couple through county records and was reunited with his parents and the three sisters he had never met. The reunion was bittersweet but filled with joy as we loved our brother immediately, sharing life stories and meeting new family members.
Esther was the quintessential homemaker. She loved preparing nutritious meals, creating gifts, home décor and clothing. She seldom sat still, happily feeding the birds, gardening, searching for mushrooms or discovering a wild blackberry patch on an old logging road for her delicious pies. She adored swimming holes, picnics, sitting around a campfire, exploring the back roads, long walks, animals and babies. When grandchildren and great-grandchildren arrived, she was eager to take them to the "Duck Swing Park" at Mingus Park and watch them play at the sand dunes and beaches.
Esther volunteered with local organizations including the election board, PTA, Bluebirds and Camp Fire Girls and was a member of Home Extension, and the Craft Guild. During the late 1940s through the 1970s, she looked forward to her weekly bowling league.
She proudly served as a volunteer at the Bay Area hospital for 25 years until Alzheimer's changed the direction of her life but not her lively spirit. She was a cheerful resident with a keen sense of humor and spunk at Lakeview Senior Living in Lincoln City the past two years. The family is deeply grateful for the compassionate care and love our mother received from the Lakeview Memory Garden staff and Samaritan Home Health Hospice during her illness.
Her gentle disposition, kindness and devotion to family and friends will be dearly missed by all including her brother Carl Forslund of Silverdale, Wash.; children John J. Frye of Bend, Ore., Zenda Treaster of Mesa, Ariz., Kathryn Fernandez of Neskowin, Janet Groefsema of University Place, Wash., and their extended families.
A chapel funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Coos Bay Chapel 685 Anderson Ave. with Pastor Don Berney of New Beginnings Christian Fellowship, Coos Bay officiating. A reception will follow in the Coos Bay Chapel reception room. Burial will be held at Ocean View Memory Gardens 1525 Ocean Boulevard, Coos Bay.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or the Oregon Humane Society.
Esther Alena Spurgeon, died on Oct. 15, 2011. She was 86.
Esther was born March 14, 1925, in North Bend, Ore., the granddaughter of Finnish immigrants Alexander and Fredricka Matson who settled on Catching Slough in the 1880's. Her parents, Ernest and Lena Forslund, raised their four children in Delmar where she had fond memories of their small family farm life.
In 1942, she gave birth to a baby boy who was adopted as an infant. This painful decision was one she never spoke of again. Following graduation from Marshfield High School in 1943, she worked at the First National Bank in Coos Bay and waited for Archie Lee Spurgeon, the natural father of her baby, to return from war in the South Pacific.
She married Archie in 1945, a union that lasted 65 years until his death in 2010. The secret about their firstborn was revealed in 2009 when John J. Frye located the couple through county records and was reunited with his parents and the three sisters he had never met. The reunion was bittersweet but filled with joy as we loved our brother immediately, sharing life stories and meeting new family members.
Esther was the quintessential homemaker. She loved preparing nutritious meals, creating gifts, home décor and clothing. She seldom sat still, happily feeding the birds, gardening, searching for mushrooms or discovering a wild blackberry patch on an old logging road for her delicious pies. She adored swimming holes, picnics, sitting around a campfire, exploring the back roads, long walks, animals and babies. When grandchildren and great-grandchildren arrived, she was eager to take them to the "Duck Swing Park" at Mingus Park and watch them play at the sand dunes and beaches.
Esther volunteered with local organizations including the election board, PTA, Bluebirds and Camp Fire Girls and was a member of Home Extension, and the Craft Guild. During the late 1940s through the 1970s, she looked forward to her weekly bowling league.
She proudly served as a volunteer at the Bay Area hospital for 25 years until Alzheimer's changed the direction of her life but not her lively spirit. She was a cheerful resident with a keen sense of humor and spunk at Lakeview Senior Living in Lincoln City the past two years. The family is deeply grateful for the compassionate care and love our mother received from the Lakeview Memory Garden staff and Samaritan Home Health Hospice during her illness.
Her gentle disposition, kindness and devotion to family and friends will be dearly missed by all including her brother Carl Forslund of Silverdale, Wash.; children John J. Frye of Bend, Ore., Zenda Treaster of Mesa, Ariz., Kathryn Fernandez of Neskowin, Janet Groefsema of University Place, Wash., and their extended families.
A chapel funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Coos Bay Chapel 685 Anderson Ave. with Pastor Don Berney of New Beginnings Christian Fellowship, Coos Bay officiating. A reception will follow in the Coos Bay Chapel reception room. Burial will be held at Ocean View Memory Gardens 1525 Ocean Boulevard, Coos Bay.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or the Oregon Humane Society.
Esther was born March 14, 1925, in North Bend, Ore., the granddaughter of Finnish immigrants Alexander and Fredricka Matson who settled on Catching Slough in the 1880's. Her parents, Ernest and Lena Forslund, raised their four children in Delmar where she had fond memories of their small family farm life.
In 1942, she gave birth to a baby boy who was adopted as an infant. This painful decision was one she never spoke of again. Following graduation from Marshfield High School in 1943, she worked at the First National Bank in Coos Bay and waited for Archie Lee Spurgeon, the natural father of her baby, to return from war in the South Pacific.
She married Archie in 1945, a union that lasted 65 years until his death in 2010. The secret about their firstborn was revealed in 2009 when John J. Frye located the couple through county records and was reunited with his parents and the three sisters he had never met. The reunion was bittersweet but filled with joy as we loved our brother immediately, sharing life stories and meeting new family members.
Esther was the quintessential homemaker. She loved preparing nutritious meals, creating gifts, home décor and clothing. She seldom sat still, happily feeding the birds, gardening, searching for mushrooms or discovering a wild blackberry patch on an old logging road for her delicious pies. She adored swimming holes, picnics, sitting around a campfire, exploring the back roads, long walks, animals and babies. When grandchildren and great-grandchildren arrived, she was eager to take them to the "Duck Swing Park" at Mingus Park and watch them play at the sand dunes and beaches.
Esther volunteered with local organizations including the election board, PTA, Bluebirds and Camp Fire Girls and was a member of Home Extension, and the Craft Guild. During the late 1940s through the 1970s, she looked forward to her weekly bowling league.
She proudly served as a volunteer at the Bay Area hospital for 25 years until Alzheimer's changed the direction of her life but not her lively spirit. She was a cheerful resident with a keen sense of humor and spunk at Lakeview Senior Living in Lincoln City the past two years. The family is deeply grateful for the compassionate care and love our mother received from the Lakeview Memory Garden staff and Samaritan Home Health Hospice during her illness.
Her gentle disposition, kindness and devotion to family and friends will be dearly missed by all including her brother Carl Forslund of Silverdale, Wash.; children John J. Frye of Bend, Ore., Zenda Treaster of Mesa, Ariz., Kathryn Fernandez of Neskowin, Janet Groefsema of University Place, Wash., and their extended families.
A chapel funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Coos Bay Chapel 685 Anderson Ave. with Pastor Don Berney of New Beginnings Christian Fellowship, Coos Bay officiating. A reception will follow in the Coos Bay Chapel reception room. Burial will be held at Ocean View Memory Gardens 1525 Ocean Boulevard, Coos Bay.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or the Oregon Humane Society.
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