Wahkiakum County Eagle-December 1996 Gordon C. Hays Former resident of Cathlamet, died in Medford, Ore. He was born in Stanton, Iowa, moving to Red Oak, Iowa in early childhood and lived there until 1941. He then moved to the West Coast with his mother and sisters after his father's death. He enlisted in the Army during WWII. He saw duty in the European theatre. Following the war he returned to Cathlamet working for his step-father Chris Ysland, until his marriage to Joyce Nelson, a Cathlamet elementary teacher. The couple moved to southern Oregon where he worked for many years in the mortuary business becoming a licensed mortician. He remained in the Army reserves after the was until 1974, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel. He later was full time in the Oregon National Guard retiring in 1981. He was a 50-year member of the Elk's lodge and served as exhalted ruler 1962-1963. Survivors include his wife, Joyce; two sons, Conlee of Eagle River, Ark., and Chris of Newport, Ore.; two daughters, Susie Brown of Ashland, Ore., and Candie Dunn of Oregon City, Ore. and six grandchildren. The two remaining sisters are Maxine Nelson of Longview and Terry Hays Irving of Duluth, Minn. Eagle Point National Cemetery-Ashland, Ore. 14 Jul 1919-21 Dec 1996 (As transcribed by the Wahkiakum County Historical Society Museum)