Lyle 'Doc' G. Nicholson | March 23, 1915–Aug. 9, 2017

Lyle "Doc" G. Nicholson passed away Aug. 9, 2017, at Providence Brookside Manor in Hood River, at the age of 102.

In 1948, he and his family moved to Portland where he established the Willamette Dog and Cat Hospital, one of the state's largest, small animal practices. He retired from active practice in 1970. Lyle was an active ham radio operator (AB7A), a charter member of the Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Club in Portland, and a member of the Mazamas and Trails Club.

He was preceded in death by son, Alan (1970); and wife Dorothy (2001). Lyle is survived by son, Craig and wife, Sue of Mount Hood; son, Bruce of Beaverton; and daughter, Jan of Twin Falls; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A private memorial service will be held in September.

Don Eastman | Aug. 20, 1922–July 26, 2017

Don Eastman

Aug. 20, 1922–July 26, 2017

Dr. Donald C. Eastman, (94) passed away on July 26, 2017 in Hillsboro, Oregon. He was the husband of Priscilla Eastman. They shared 30 years together.

Born in Nampa, Idaho on August 20, 1922, he was the son of Elmer Ivan Eastman and Marie Eleanor Benedict Eastman. He attended Pacific University and University of Washington. He graduated from Pacific Dental College. He served in the Reserve Officer Training Corps for 15 months. He was a dentist and supply officer for the United States Army, stationed in Virginia for 2 years. He discharged in 1948 with the rank of Captain. He opened his dental office in McMinnville, Oregon where he practiced for 40 years.

Serendipity brough Don to the Mazamas. In 1954, while hiking and fishing at Green Lake, Don and Jim Craig met a Mazama group climbing South Sister and Broken Top. Later, when the two arrived home, they made a quick trip to the top of the Pacific Building in downtown Portland where the Mazamas office was located at the time. They spoke to Don Onthank, known as “Mr. Mazama,” and signed up for a Mt. Hood climb with Phyllis Neuberger as leader. During the climb snow conditions were such that they did a sitting glissade down to Silcox Hut. They had become Mazamas!

Don enjoyed leading climbs and derived great pleasure from the detailed planning. He was a cautious leader and instilled trust in those who climbed with him. The people he met climbing, skiing and serving on committees he considered some of his best friends.

Some of the last major climbs Don and Jim made were in 1984. They summited the Gross Glockner, the highest peak in Austria, the Triglav, the highest peak in the former Yugoslavia and Mt. Olympus, the highest peak in Greece.

Don's involvement in the Mazamas was quite prolific. He served on the Budget Committee in 1965 and 1966, the Finance Committee in 1962 and the Long Range Planning Committee from 1965–66. He was on the Climbing Committee in 1959 and again from1967–69, and chaired that committee in 1969. Don served on the Mazama Executive Council from 1962–66 and again in 1975. Don was the Mazamas vice-president in 2962, treasurer in 1963, and president in 1964.

Don earned the Seven Oregon Peaks award in 1957, Sixteen Major NW Peaks award in 1959, 10 Peaks award in 1964, and was the first recipent of the 50 and 100 Peaks awards, in 1965 and 1967 respectively. Don won the 5-point leadership award in 1959, the 10-point 1960, the 15-point in 1961, and was the second person to win the Leuthold Leader Award in 1969. He was also awarded the Parker Cup, often described as the most prestigious Mazama award, for his service to the Mazamas.
Don’s love of the natural world and sharing that love with others continued after he stopped climbing mountains. He began his second professional career as a photographer after retiring from his dental practice.

After 50 years with the Mazamas, Don joined the ranks of Mazama Life Members in 2004. We were lucky enough to have Don visit the Mazama Mountaineering Center on June 23, 2014 at the age of 91, with his wife Priscilla, and Bill Mosser (Priscilla's son). They dropped in to check out the Don Eastman display case (see right). Don seemed to enjoy seeing the collection of some of his old climbing items as well as pictures of his time with the Mazamas.

He was a member of First Baptist Church in McMinnville, Oregon and Village Baptist in Beaverton, Oregon. He was a past president of the Mazama Mountaineering Club, as well as a member of Kiwanis Club, The Native Plant Society of Oregon, American Dental Association, The Nature Conservancy, the Oregon Natural Resources Council, and was for many years a member of the American Alpine Club, the Iowa Mountaineers, and the Swiss Alpine Club in Zermatt, Switzerland. He was the author of Rare and Endangered Plants of Oregon.

He is survived by his wife, Priscilla Eastman; daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Steven Henson; grandchildren, Melissa Henson and Matthew Henson. He was predeceased by his first wife Sibyl Hauser Eastman, parents, and sister Lorraine Burson.

The memorial service will be held on August 26, 2017 at 1:00pm at the First Baptist Church in McMinnville (125 SE Cowls St). Memorial donations may be made to the Native Plant Society in care of Macy and Son Funeral Home.

• We published a feature article titled We Were Mazamas: A Profile of Don Eastman, penned by Bill Mosser, in the June 2014 Mazama Bulletin. You can read the article on our blog at tinyurl.com/MazDonEastman

Elizabeth Kate ("Katie") Barker, Lifelong Mazama | Sept. 29, 1936–Dec. 17, 2016

by Charles Barker, Mazama Lodge Manager

My mother passed away in mid-December. Loss is difficult, but I have so much to be thankful for. My mother sought to expose my siblings and me to many rich life experiences, and so many of them relate to the Mazamas. Her parents, Gerald and Betty Moore, were part of a close-knit Mazama group that formed lifelong friendships in the 1920s and 30s and enriched my own family’s life. They met on a 1920s Mazama hike around Mount St. Helens.

Katie Moore Barker followed her mother and grandmother in climbing Mt. Hood. She also climbed Mount. St. Helens before and after its eruption. My sister and I have climbed mountains to earn Mazama membership, as have our children.

My mother joined the Mazamas in 1953 and was part of the Oberteuffer Mazama Youth Group throughout her high school years. Mazama Lodge was a second home to hundreds of young adults in those days, and the Oberteuffers were like second parents to hundreds of young Mazamas over the years.

Some veteran members still call our present-day lodge the “New Lodge,” even though it’s 57 years old. When a fundraiser was started to rebuild this lodge in the 1950s, Katie was in her second year of teaching at West Linn High School, and even on her teacher’s salary, she was happy to contribute financially to its construction.

In the late 1970s, she introduced me to Mazama Lodge, and I quickly joined the Mazama Explorer Post that Keith Mischke led. Katie served on the Lodge Committee in the mid-1990s, and during that time, she helped enable a group of foster families to use the lodge. We have shared many wonderful times at the lodge, including Thanksgivings, cookie decorating, folk dancing, and many New Year’s Eve celebrations, as well as using the lodge as home base for countless hikes and cross-country ski trips.

As a final thank you to the Mazamas, Katie bequeathed $13,000 in memory of her late parents, Gerald E. Moore and Elizabeth London Moore, whose love for the Mazamas lives on through the generations.

Loraine Shannon (Jones) Allinger | June 2, 1942–April 17, 2017

Member Loraine Shannon (Jones) Allinger passed away on April 17, 2017. She earned degrees from Portland State University and taught for 13 years at Clarkes School. In the 1970s Loraine was an active climber and backpacker with the Mazamas on trips throughout the Cascades, Rockies, and Olympics, and even enjoyed climbing abroad in the Alps and Canadian Rockies. In 1977, she married John Allinger. They lived in Longview and Hockinson, Washington. Soon after they were married, to her new husband’s surprise, she carried corn-on-the-cob and steaks up to timberline on Mt. Adams to cook on the Primus and Svea stoves. Later on in life she moved on to using walking sticks, but she never gave up her ice axe.

She enjoyed music and natural history and belonged to the Audubon Society and the Vancouver Chrysanthemum Society, as well as the Mazamas. Her charities were Medical Teams International and The Carter Center.

Loraine is survived by her husband; sons, Andy and Ben; sisters, Dary Jones-Eagles, Shelley Hettman, and Josie Evans; and many nieces and nephews.

Susan Marie Hagmeier | February 2, 1952–February 22, 2017

Past Mazama member Susan “Sue” Hagmeier passed away peacefully at home on February 22, 2017. Sue was a lifelong Portlander, born and raised in Southwest Portland. She graduated from Jackson High School in 1970 and attended Reed College from 1970–74. Sue had a passion for the outdoors, and participated in the first women’s course offered by Pacific Crest Outward Bound (now Northwest Outward Bound School). She became a course instructor for Outward Bound, leading wilderness trips and ropes courses. Sue worked as a ski instructor at Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline Lodge for many years, and was a member of the Mazamas. She also spearheaded countless family camping and hiking trips.

In the 1990s, inspired by her two children, Sue was elected to the Portland Public Schools school board and served two terms, from 1995–2003. Afterwards Sue continued her political dedication, serving as the Multnomah County Democrat’s communications chair for many years, and attending the 2012 Democratic National Convention as an Oregon delegate. Sue also worked in the state legislature, starting in 2009, as Lew Frederick’s campaign chair and chief of staff. Sue believed strongly in the power of government as well as individual action to make people’s lives better. She also found and shared humor in the absurdity and daily grind of modern politics and life. Oregon has lost an irreplaceable advocate for progressive causes.

She leaves behind two daughters, Emily Liedel Omier and Julia Liedel, and granddaughter Sofia Omier.

David McNeil | Nov. 5, 1951–Nov. 1, 2016

David W. F. McNeil passed away unexpectedly Nov. 1. David was born in Boston, Mass. to Susan Young McNeil and Willard Francis McNeil. His formative years were spent in Needham and Boxford, MA. In 1980 he graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School and became a member of the Oregon State Bar in May 1981. David married his sweetheart, Linda Fisk McNeil in 1981. They were happily married 35 years. Twin sons Matthew and Jacob joined them in 1990. David was a devoted and loving husband and father.

David joined the Mazamas in 1978, and made many lifelong friends. He was active in the rock, mountaineering, and ice climbing programs as both a Climb Leader and Advanced Climbing Instructor. David was at one time a member of Portland Mountain Rescue, and was among the searchers in the Oregon Episcopal School tragedy in 1986. He climbed many peaks and rock faces in the Northwest and Yosemite Valley and attempted two peaks in Mexico.

In September 2016 he climbed Chief Joseph Mt. (Joseph, OR) and Sharp Top in Virginia. He also loved bicycling, skiing, running, ice-skating, and inline racing. In 1974 he rode his bicycle 2600 miles (solo) in the Western US. He also cycled from Portland, Oregon to Washington, DC, in 1987, with long time Mazama friend David Schermer. In 1979 he ran in the Portland Marathon. In 2000 David set a goal of running 2000 miles and ran the final leg on December 31.

A Celebration of Life service will be held for David McNeil on Saturday, April 22, 2017, at 2 p.m., at New Hope Community Church, 11731 SE Stevens Rd, Happy Valley, OR 97086.

Paul Herner | June 22, 1936–Feb. 18, 2017

Paul Herner was born in Pomona, California in June of 1936. He attended the US Naval Academy and graduated in 1958. Paul then moved to Oregon and worked for the Forest Service designing roads and campgrounds in the Oregon Cascades. He joined the Mazamas in 1968, became a climb leader, served on Executive Council and was Mazamas President in 1978-79. He continued to climb mountains as long as he was able because, in his words, "as long as us Mazamas are climbing we're not over the hill yet."

Paul retired in 1994 after 27 years at the Bonneville Power Administration. He then traveled the United States in a motorhome, doing volunteer trail building and maintenance in National Parks and Forests as the opportunity arose. In 2015 he was recognized by Portland Public Parks for his years of volunteer gardening at the Peninsula Park Rose Garden.

Paul passed away peacefully on February 18. As a celebration of his life there will be a special free ethnic Scandinavian dance on Monday, April 17 from 8:30–10 p.m. at Nordia House, 8800 SW Oleson Road in Portland.