Wasco-Statewide County OR Archives Obituaries.....Fruitt, Rodney Martin November 1, 2004
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Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com April 4, 2006, 11:33 pm

The Dalles Chronicle, October 28, 2004
     Rodney Martin Fruitt, 82, a resident of The Dalles, died at a local 
hospital on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2004.
     He was born Aug. 30, 1922, in Corvallis, the youngest of five children to 
George Henry and Mina Henrietta (Averil) Fruitt.
     He was raised and attended schools in Brownsville, graduating from high 
school in 1940. After high school, he attended a year of junior college in 
Bakersfield, Calif. 
     Rodney served in the U.S. Army Air Force and was primarily stationed in 
England during WWII.
     He met Daphne "Jean" Rose Medlock in St. Neots, England, and they were 
married Oct. 29, 1945.
     After his military service, they settled in Brownsville on his family 
farm, where they farmed and raised their children. Leaving farming and 
pursuing his next love, law enforcement, they moved to Philomath where he 
worked for the Benton County Sheriff's Office and then Twisp, Wash., where he 
worked for the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office. His love of farming lead him 
back to the farm implement business as a mechanic and helping the farmers with 
his knowledge and love for the land and machinery. In 1994, they moved to The 
Dalles and settled into retirement. 
     He was a member of the Charity Grange in Harrisburg, Ore., for 50 years, 
life member of the Twisp Masonic Lodge and loved spending time with his 
family. He enjoyed gardening and yard work.
     He is survived by two sons, Steve and his wife, Cathy Fruitt, Klamath 
Falls, and Jim and his wife, Kathy Fruitt, Corvallis; two daughters, Phyllis 
Michelsen, Twisp, and Yvonne and her husband, Michael Ward, Albany; twelve 
grandchildren; fifteen great-grandchildren and his sister, Georgene Fields, 
Cheshire, Ore. He was preceded in death by his wife in March of 2004, and two 
half brothers and a half sister.
     Memorial services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 
at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, 1003 Sunflower St., West The Dalles, with 
Pastor Norman Wells officiating. A light lunch fellowship will immediately 
follow.
     A graveside Masonic ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 
2004, at Alford Cemetery in Harrisburg followed by a 3 p.m. memorial service 
at Charity Grange, 33155 Bond Butte, Harrisburg, with Pastor Jim Hall 
officiating. A dessert social will follow. 
     The family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the Windy 
River Gleaners at 223 E. 1st St., The Dalles, OR 97058 or Hospice of the 
Gorge, 751 Myrtle St., The Dalles, OR 97058. 
     Private cremation was held at The Dalles Win-quatt Crematory with 
Spencer, Libby and Powell Funeral Home in care of arrangements.


Additional Comments:
Written permission to reprint given by The Dalles Chronicle, The Dalles, 
Oregon, Dan Spatz, Editor (e-mail dated 3/7/2006).


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