Kenneth Elwyn Powers passed away June 22, 2016 at Wallowa Memorial Hospital in Enterprise at age 93. His wife and two of his children had been at his bedside much of the day, assuring him that he was much loved.

Most of those who knew him in Wallowa County called him Elwyn or K.E., and those who came to know him elsewhere knew him by Ken or Kenneth. Elwyn was born March 8, 1923, in Wallowa to Loren Tower and Rosa Emma (Bishop) Powers.

He went to Lower (Wallowa) Valley Grade School from 1929-1937. He graduated from the eighth grade, entered Wallowa High School in 1937 and graduated in 1941. Elwyn then went to Oregon Institute of Technology Auto Diesel School in Portland. After graduating in June of 1942, he moved back to the family farm in Lower Valley. He worked there until the farm was sold in 1946.

In 1944, Elwyn met Jennette Renoe in Wallowa. They were married on Aug. 30, 1946, in Boise. Elwyn and Jennette moved to Portland in 1946. Elwyn built houses and contracted cement work with his brother Lyle until 1947. At this time he decided to cut cordwood, and did so for several months. Then he purchased his first logging truck and hauled logs.

Wallowa County was where Elwyn wanted to be — it was home to him. So in 1949, Elwyn and Jennette moved back to Wallowa County. After renting for five years, in June of 1954 they purchased a house in Lostine.

Elwyn continued to haul logs until 1976. For 13 of those years he hauled for Harold C. Voetberg. He and Jennette worked together to make this a successful business — Elwyn driving and maintaining the truck while Jennette combined bookkeeping and homemaking.

During these years, not only did Elwyn continue to enjoy hunting, fishing and boating, but also ventured into motorcycling. He and a friend Ron McArtor formed a partnership as dealers for Yamaguchi motorcycles, later Hodaka motorcycles.

Elwyn enjoyed boating, especially with his childhood friend Dale Victor. In May of 1961, Elwyn, Dale, Dale’s father Alva, Lovell M. Groves (a photographer) and Bill O’Malley (a dealer for Mercury outboards) were the first to travel a round trip on the Salmon River — the River of No Return. In 1970, he and Jennette had a gas station built, called Powers Cash & Save in Lostine, a business at which many teenagers found employment.

After selling the logging truck and the gas station in 1976, Elwyn and Jennette moved to Angoon, Alaska, where they worked for Elwyn’s nephew Dick Powers, Elwyn maintaining equipment and Jennette in Dick’s grocery store. At the end of six months, Elwyn went to work for T.O. Paddock Construction Company (a job that took both of them to many villages in southeastern Alaska). They moved to Juneau and Elwyn continued to work for Paddock until June of 1981, when they returned to Oregon so Elwyn could have hip surgery.

Returning to Alaska in the spring of 1982, Elwyn again found employment with Paddock until July. At that time he went to work for the North Slope Borough in Barrow, Alaska, as a chief engineer for a dredge crew. While Elwyn worked at Barrow, Jennette remained in Juneau. During their time in Alaska, they made many new friends and had many interesting and unique experiences.

After retiring they moved back to Lostine, where they lived very independently until the early part of 2014. At that time, Elwyn, at the age of 90, developed a very serious case of pneumonia. He was not expected to survive this illness, but being the strong-willed fighter he was, he did. After his discharge from Wallowa Memorial Hospital, he and Jennette moved to Joseph to be near their daughter. This is where he lived at the time of his passing.

Elwyn and Jennette worked hard at earning a living, and they did their best to enjoy living. They camped with family and friends, rode horseback into the mountains, traveled and loved their family and friends dearly. They were together for almost 70 years.

Kenneth Elwyn was preceded in death by his parents, Loren and Rosa Powers; sister Juanita Wolfe; and brothers Florian Eugene and Lyle.

Survivors include his wife Jennette; children Nancy Roberts (husband Johnny) of Joseph, Gary Powers of Hermiston and Harold Powers of Salem; seven grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and many cherished extended family members and friends.

A graveside service was held on July 2 at Bramlet Cemetery, in the valley where Elwyn was born and raised and below the mountains he loved so much.

His nephew, Ron Renoe, officiated, and a close friend of his son’s, Gary Moffit, sang “Red River Valley” (a song Elwyn would chord on the piano and sing) and “The Old Rugged Cross.” The service was followed by fellowship in Joseph, where Jennette resides. The service and the fellowship were attended by many loved ones, family and friends.

We, Elwyn’s family, wish to extend our deepest and most sincere gratitude to those who attended the service and fellowship and to those who’ve extended caring thoughts and prayer. We also wish to acknowledge the special comfort and care provided by Elwyn’s (Ken’s) doctors and those who cared for him at Wallowa Memorial Hospital.

Memorial donations may be made in the name of Kenneth Elwyn Powers to Friends of the Wallowa School District, P.O. Box 229, Wallowa, OR, 97885.