Lyle Bryce Shumway Jan. 31, 1926 – Feb. 22, 2015

Lyle Bryce Shumway was born Jan. 31, 1926, to Lyle and Maurine Shumway in Wallowa. The family lived on Alder Slope on a ranch. He graduated from Enterprise High School in 1944. He had two younger sisters, Maravene and Loveta. Bryce married Joan Roys July 18, 1951, in Enterprise. At that time, Bryce was a caretaker at the Enterprise Cemetery and dug four graves by hand on the day of their wedding. He was sure tired!

They had four children, the first being twins, Elwin and Elaine, then Kevin, and Julie. The family lived in Enterprise and Bryce worked cutting logs and wood until he found a job as a contract milk hauler for Raven Foods until they closed down. They then moved to Wallowa where Bryce worked for the Bate Mill. He worked on the green chain and drove the lift truck until the mill closed due to a strike.

The family then moved to the Salem area where Bryce worked as a Montgomery Ward tire repair salesman. One day while at the coast, he found a job as a contract milk hauler for the Tillamook Cheese Factory. They lived on a farm in Neskowin for about 30 years. They then moved to Salem around 2008 where they resided and Bryce did maintenance and lawn care for Bethel Park Conference Center.

As a child Bryce was accident-prone. He broke his leg trying to out-jump his sister, and broke both arms in two other different accidents. His arms were never set correctly which limited his mobility but it never stopped him from doing what he needed to do. When he was called for the draft and he couldn’t straighten his arm for shots, they told him to go home and work on the farm. He loved hunting with his family, and fishing. He came from an era of hard work and hard times. His father was a garbage collector and that was where they got some clothes and shoes — which didn’t do his feet any favors when they were too short! He enjoyed telling jokes and would laugh when telling them. Bryce loved to play the guitar, mandolin, and piano, as well as singing with his wife or sang solos. After retiring, he loved singing at a nursing home every week.

He loved the Lord, had a gentle kind spirit, and had a passion for helping people. He went to the hospital Dec. 14, 2014, and then to Marian Estates Nursing Care Facility in Sublimity, with hope and determination to go back home to be with his wife. But, God chose to take him to his heavenly home Feb. 22, 2015. He will be missed and lovingly remembered by his wife, family, and many friends.

Bryce leaves behind his wife Joan of close to 64 years, his children Elwin (Robin) Shumway of Oregon, Elaine (Carl) De Ceasar of Arizona, Kevin (Lorita) Shumway of Alaska, Julie (Curtis) Holt of Oregon, eight grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, sister Loveta (Duane) Buhler of Idaho, cousin Dean Hulse of Oregon, nieces, nephews, and many friends.