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The latest obituaries and death notices for Malheur County

Arba Eugene Hager

Sept. 17, 1928~ Feb. 1, 2019

Arba Eugene Hager, 90, of Caldwell, Idaho, died Friday, Feb. 1. A memorial service will be conducted Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. at Oregon Trail Church of God in Caldwell, with Pastor Brian Seidel officiating.

Arba is survived by his wife, Fonnie.

Arba was born Sept. 17, 1928, in Texhoma, Oklahoma, where his father and mother, Eugene and Gladys Hager, farmed. The family moved in 1933 to Wendell, Idaho, where he attended elementary school, moving later to Jamison in eastern Oregon. He attended high school in Vale, Oregon.

Arba is survived by his siblings: one brother, Clyde Hager, now residing in Weiser; three sisters, Arlene Turner of Fruitland, Carolyn Dulhanty of Boise, and Billie Blodgett of Star. Surviving Arba are also stepsister Shirley E (Garred) Jones of Ontario, Oregon; and Dennis Garred of McMinnville; and a half-sister Sandy Oliver. He was preceded in death by step-sisters Claire (Garred) Addleman, Marlene (Garred) Tolman, Judith (Garred) Grant, and stepbrothers Mitchell Garred and Terry Hager.

In 1950, Arba married Norma Rae Garred in Payette, Idaho. They had six children, Ellen Rae Stancliff-Down of Richland, Oregon; Steven Arby Hager (Gina) of Caldwell, Idaho; Marcia Louise Morman (G. W.) of Caldwell; Peggy Ann Altamura of Phoenix, Arizona; and Ronald James Hager (Karen) of Clark Fork, Idaho. Arba was preceded in death by Norma, age 29, in 1961 and son Daniel Wade Hager, age 25, in 1984. Arba worked at the Ontario Water District and the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project in Eastern Washington during those years. After the death of his wife, he moved to Prairie City, Oregon.

In 1967, Arba married Roseanne (Pierson) Montague and helped raise her four children, as well as his six. They divorced in 1975.

From 1975 to 1981, Arba worked at the Fort Greeley Army Base outside of Delta Junction, Alaska, as a civilian, evidentially, supervising the Army Base’s water system. In Alaska, he met Phyliss Orsula. He retired in 1981 and he and Phyllis moved to Caldwell.

He became a “gentleman farmer” purchasing a small acreage in Sand Hollow, outside of Caldwell, where he and Phyllis raised alfalfa and white-faced Herefords. All the grandchildren have fond memories of “the farm.”

After Phyllis’ death, Arba married Fonnie (Wells) (Burrows) Hammer in 1996. They lived in Caldwell for 22 years.

Arba met with a “coffee club” eating breakfast and swapping stories –the club currently meets at the Sunrise Café –almost every morning for the last 20 years.

Arba’s sons learned to fish and hunt with their Dad and all became avid outdoorsmen. Many of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren caught their first fish while fishing with Grandpa.

He will be missed.

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DEATHS:

• Frances May Gardner Bell, 94, of Ontario, died Feb. 3 at a Vale care facility. Lienkaemper Chapel, Ontario. 

• Allen B. Woods, 84, of Ontario, died Feb. 3 at a Boise hospital. Lienkaemper Chapel, Ontario. 

• Marjorie P. Hoots, 89, of Ontario, died Feb. 7 at a local care facility. Lienkaemper Chapel, Ontario. 

• Sylvia E. Forsyth, 80, of Ontario, died Feb. 9 at her home in Ontario. Haren-Wood Funeral Chapel, Ontario.

• Margaret Louise Robson, 77, of Nyssa, died Feb. 10 at a local hospital. Lienkaemper Chapel, Nyssa. 

LEARN HOW TO PLACE AN OBITUARY: Contact Autumn Butler, Enterprise office manager, at [email protected] or call 514-473-3377.