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Ralph Arnold Bighouse

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Ralph Arnold Bighouse

Birth
Death
16 Jan 2004 (aged 79)
Burial
Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, USA Add to Map
Plot
SECTION AA SITE 369
Memorial ID
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A funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26, 2004, in Gateway Little Chapel of the Chimes for Ralph A. Bighouse , who died Jan. 16 at age 79.

Mr. Bighouse was born June 14, 1924, in Butte, N.D. He moved to Portland in 1943. During World War II, he served in the Army. He owned Bighouse Arco & U-Haul Trailers on Northeast 30th Avenue and Killingsworth for the past 50 years. He also spent time in Trout Lake, Wash. In 1952, he married Marie Martin; she died in 1998.

Survivors include his daughters, Susan Soria and Sally Moe; son, David; sisters, Arlene Strutz, Millie Brose, Dorothy Lazoff and Shirley Colt; brother, Don; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. His brother Earl E. died Jan. 6.

Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Friday, January 23, 2004 AND:

LIFE STORIES RALPH AND EARL, BROTHERS TO THE END
Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Friday, January 30, 2004
Author: AMY MARTINEZ STARKE - The Oregonian

Summary: The Bighouse siblings stayed close as they lived and loved and laughed in Oregon, and they died 10 days apart
"Get a good job and stick with it," their dad told Ralph and Earl, and both Bighouse brothers followed his advice: Ralph bought a gas station in 1954 and started Oregon's oldest U-Haul business, and his younger brother, Earl, got on with the Post Office in 1955 and was a carrier for 33 years.

They weren't always Bighouses. Somewhere along the line their Ukrainian family name, Willikaschatka, got changed to its English translation.

Dad and Ralph -- the oldest child -- came from North Dakota in 1942 to work in the shipyards, dad reporting back: "Hey, I'm making fantastic money!" They brought the rest of the family -- including Earl, the middle child of age 10 -- out on the train in 1943 to a lush, green Oregon with paved streets and towering mountains. Except for military service, Ralph and Earl never left.

Ralph was in the Army's 123rd Cavalry, chasing and disabling Japanese balloon bombs on the West Coast during World War II. He married the girl across the street from his Southeast Portland home, Marie, in 1952. They had three children. Born on Flag Day, he told them flags were flying because it was his birthday.

Ralph had two goals: first, his own service station, something he had wanted since he was a teen working at a gas station in Butte, N.D. He achieved that goal when he got a station and started renting U-Haul trailers at Northeast 30th Avenue and Killingsworth Street. Over the years, it changed names until it became Bighouse Automotive, now operated by his son.

His second goal was a cabin, and he got one at Trout Lake near Mount Adams. A lifelong UFO follower, he was fascinated by reports of sightings there. Ralph also loved old glass negatives and his favorite TV shows -- "The Price is Right" and "The Big Joe Polka Show." He had every Lawrence Welk show recorded. He always had a flag out for holidays, stickers of flags all over and a flag in his lapel.

Marie died in 1998. Ralph joined the East Portland Eagles and played pinochle with Earl.

Earl also served his country and settled down in Portland. He was eight years younger and was in the Air Force during the 1950s. After a job with Western Union, he got a Post Office job in 1955, the same year he married Julie; they adopted four children.

Earl's first assignment was a foot route in the Cleveland High School neighborhood he grew up in. Later he had a route out of the Milwaukie/Oak Grove office for more than 17 years. Even after he retired in 1988, he continued to think of himself as a postman. He wore his jacket with the postal emblem until his family threatened to strip it off him.

Earl loved to grow things -- an old North Dakota habit -- and had a small farm in Canby. He cooked Ukrainian vegetable borscht just like mama's, with fresh dill and sour cream. Earl also did a lot of preserving: He canned quarts of Concord grape juice from his mama's plants -- the juice so sweet he didn't need to add sugar -- and he gave away cuttings. Julie died in 1994. Earl met Grace at church, and they married in 1998.

Earl's sense of loyalty was deep, and he loved reunions of family, his Cleveland High School class and his fellow mail carriers.

He was known as the "Wood Man" because his labor of love was collecting, chopping and stacking wood, and seeing to it that everybody had some wood to burn.

At the farm, he had a barn full of firewood, enough for a lifetime. Later, he went to a mill and collected mill ends so friends could use them as kindling. He also made bird houses and flower boxes he donated to his high school reunions as door prizes.

"Would you care to have some starting wood for your fireplace?" he would say to anyone he visited, rubbing his chin on both sides. Or "Bring your van over for some wood!"

Get Ralph and Earl together and they'd play pinochle competitively for hours, eating sunflower seeds and drinking pop, although Ralph occasionally switched to Courvoisier. They were two unpretentious guys, both wearing comfortable clothes and smelling of the whole cloves of garlic they both ate.

At family gatherings, Ralph and Earl liked to reminisce about North Dakota, agreeing that on balance, they'd had more good times than bad.

Earl had a blood disorder and was sick awhile before he died Jan. 6, 2004, at age 71; Ralph , who had a heart problem, refused surgery. "I'm having a fine time with this life," he said, and showing the Ukrainian in him, he added, "Life is good; it's to be lived." He looked fine and dapper at his brother's funeral, then died Jan. 16, 2004, at age 79.

Earl went to his grave in wood, a pine casket. His family liked it so much they chose an identical one for Ralph .

RALPH BIGHOUSE
Born: June 14, 1924, Butte, N.D.
Died: Jan. 16, 2004, Portland
Survivors: Daughters, Susan Soria and Sally Moe; son, David; sisters, Arlene Strutz, Millie Brose, Dorothy Lazoff and Shirley Colt; brother, Don; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild.
Service: Has been held (Gateway Little Chapel of the Chimes)
Remembrances: Portland Adventist Community Service Center
EARL BIGHOUSE

Born: Nov. 4, 1932, Butte, N.D.
Died: Jan. 6, 2004, Portland
Survivors: wife, Grace; sons, Richard, Rob and Roger; daughter, Becka Bighouse ; stepsons, Jerry Lee and Randy Lee; brother, Donald; sisters, Arlene Strutz, Millie Brose, Shirley Colt, Dorothy Lazoff; six grandchildren.
Service: Has been held (Aurora Presbyterian Church)
Remembrances: American Red Cross Blood Bank
Caption: Photo


Edition: SUNRISE
Section: LOCAL STORIES
Page: E09
Index Terms: Obituary
Record Number: 0401300097
Copyright (c) 2004 Oregonian Publishing Co.

A funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26, 2004, in Gateway Little Chapel of the Chimes for Ralph A. Bighouse , who died Jan. 16 at age 79.

Mr. Bighouse was born June 14, 1924, in Butte, N.D. He moved to Portland in 1943. During World War II, he served in the Army. He owned Bighouse Arco & U-Haul Trailers on Northeast 30th Avenue and Killingsworth for the past 50 years. He also spent time in Trout Lake, Wash. In 1952, he married Marie Martin; she died in 1998.

Survivors include his daughters, Susan Soria and Sally Moe; son, David; sisters, Arlene Strutz, Millie Brose, Dorothy Lazoff and Shirley Colt; brother, Don; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. His brother Earl E. died Jan. 6.

Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Friday, January 23, 2004 AND:

LIFE STORIES RALPH AND EARL, BROTHERS TO THE END
Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Friday, January 30, 2004
Author: AMY MARTINEZ STARKE - The Oregonian

Summary: The Bighouse siblings stayed close as they lived and loved and laughed in Oregon, and they died 10 days apart
"Get a good job and stick with it," their dad told Ralph and Earl, and both Bighouse brothers followed his advice: Ralph bought a gas station in 1954 and started Oregon's oldest U-Haul business, and his younger brother, Earl, got on with the Post Office in 1955 and was a carrier for 33 years.

They weren't always Bighouses. Somewhere along the line their Ukrainian family name, Willikaschatka, got changed to its English translation.

Dad and Ralph -- the oldest child -- came from North Dakota in 1942 to work in the shipyards, dad reporting back: "Hey, I'm making fantastic money!" They brought the rest of the family -- including Earl, the middle child of age 10 -- out on the train in 1943 to a lush, green Oregon with paved streets and towering mountains. Except for military service, Ralph and Earl never left.

Ralph was in the Army's 123rd Cavalry, chasing and disabling Japanese balloon bombs on the West Coast during World War II. He married the girl across the street from his Southeast Portland home, Marie, in 1952. They had three children. Born on Flag Day, he told them flags were flying because it was his birthday.

Ralph had two goals: first, his own service station, something he had wanted since he was a teen working at a gas station in Butte, N.D. He achieved that goal when he got a station and started renting U-Haul trailers at Northeast 30th Avenue and Killingsworth Street. Over the years, it changed names until it became Bighouse Automotive, now operated by his son.

His second goal was a cabin, and he got one at Trout Lake near Mount Adams. A lifelong UFO follower, he was fascinated by reports of sightings there. Ralph also loved old glass negatives and his favorite TV shows -- "The Price is Right" and "The Big Joe Polka Show." He had every Lawrence Welk show recorded. He always had a flag out for holidays, stickers of flags all over and a flag in his lapel.

Marie died in 1998. Ralph joined the East Portland Eagles and played pinochle with Earl.

Earl also served his country and settled down in Portland. He was eight years younger and was in the Air Force during the 1950s. After a job with Western Union, he got a Post Office job in 1955, the same year he married Julie; they adopted four children.

Earl's first assignment was a foot route in the Cleveland High School neighborhood he grew up in. Later he had a route out of the Milwaukie/Oak Grove office for more than 17 years. Even after he retired in 1988, he continued to think of himself as a postman. He wore his jacket with the postal emblem until his family threatened to strip it off him.

Earl loved to grow things -- an old North Dakota habit -- and had a small farm in Canby. He cooked Ukrainian vegetable borscht just like mama's, with fresh dill and sour cream. Earl also did a lot of preserving: He canned quarts of Concord grape juice from his mama's plants -- the juice so sweet he didn't need to add sugar -- and he gave away cuttings. Julie died in 1994. Earl met Grace at church, and they married in 1998.

Earl's sense of loyalty was deep, and he loved reunions of family, his Cleveland High School class and his fellow mail carriers.

He was known as the "Wood Man" because his labor of love was collecting, chopping and stacking wood, and seeing to it that everybody had some wood to burn.

At the farm, he had a barn full of firewood, enough for a lifetime. Later, he went to a mill and collected mill ends so friends could use them as kindling. He also made bird houses and flower boxes he donated to his high school reunions as door prizes.

"Would you care to have some starting wood for your fireplace?" he would say to anyone he visited, rubbing his chin on both sides. Or "Bring your van over for some wood!"

Get Ralph and Earl together and they'd play pinochle competitively for hours, eating sunflower seeds and drinking pop, although Ralph occasionally switched to Courvoisier. They were two unpretentious guys, both wearing comfortable clothes and smelling of the whole cloves of garlic they both ate.

At family gatherings, Ralph and Earl liked to reminisce about North Dakota, agreeing that on balance, they'd had more good times than bad.

Earl had a blood disorder and was sick awhile before he died Jan. 6, 2004, at age 71; Ralph , who had a heart problem, refused surgery. "I'm having a fine time with this life," he said, and showing the Ukrainian in him, he added, "Life is good; it's to be lived." He looked fine and dapper at his brother's funeral, then died Jan. 16, 2004, at age 79.

Earl went to his grave in wood, a pine casket. His family liked it so much they chose an identical one for Ralph .

RALPH BIGHOUSE
Born: June 14, 1924, Butte, N.D.
Died: Jan. 16, 2004, Portland
Survivors: Daughters, Susan Soria and Sally Moe; son, David; sisters, Arlene Strutz, Millie Brose, Dorothy Lazoff and Shirley Colt; brother, Don; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild.
Service: Has been held (Gateway Little Chapel of the Chimes)
Remembrances: Portland Adventist Community Service Center
EARL BIGHOUSE

Born: Nov. 4, 1932, Butte, N.D.
Died: Jan. 6, 2004, Portland
Survivors: wife, Grace; sons, Richard, Rob and Roger; daughter, Becka Bighouse ; stepsons, Jerry Lee and Randy Lee; brother, Donald; sisters, Arlene Strutz, Millie Brose, Shirley Colt, Dorothy Lazoff; six grandchildren.
Service: Has been held (Aurora Presbyterian Church)
Remembrances: American Red Cross Blood Bank
Caption: Photo


Edition: SUNRISE
Section: LOCAL STORIES
Page: E09
Index Terms: Obituary
Record Number: 0401300097
Copyright (c) 2004 Oregonian Publishing Co.



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