Russell Keith Halladay

HALLADAY—Russell Keith Halladay, 88, passed away July 13, 2012.

Keith was born May 11, 1924, in Coos Bay, Ore., to Claude Ray and Juanita (Engdahl) Halladay. As a young woman, Keith’s mother taught in a one-room school house in Pendleton while his father traveled across Oregon and Washington as a bridge builder.

Keith graduated from Reedsport High School in 1942, and soon after joined the Navy. He attended the U.S. Naval Training Center in Chicago, flying practice maneuvers over the Great Lakes. He served in World War II as an aviation machinist from 1943-1946.

He married his first wife, Beatrice Chappelle, in 1948, and together they bought a home outside Florence in Westlake. Keith spent most of his career as a logging hook tender. When he retired from the woods, Keith and his second wife, Virginia, purchased the old Andy’s Tavern. They razed the structure and built the Seagull, which is now Riley’s Steakhouse. Keith and Virginia operated the Seagull together for 10 years before they moved to the Richland/Baker City, Ore., area.

Keith had an amazing “green thumb.” He taught himself to graft fruit trees and relished creating single trees that bore several different species of apple. He grew beautiful corn and tomatoes while living in Baker City.

Keith was kind-hearted and generous, supporting numerous charitable organizations. He and Virginia were named Foster Parents of the Year in Baker County for their loving dedication to caring for developmentally disabled infants.

Keith was preceded in death by his brother, Norman, in 1976, and by his wife, Virginia, in 2003. His children’s mother, Beatrice (Chappelle) Halladay, died in 1987.

Keith is survived by his children: Carl Ray Halladay and Parma Roe of Florence and Shelly Conro and Carol Free of Baker City; 10 grandchildren and as many great-grandchildren.

Cremation services were held by Burns’s Riverside Chapel Florence Funeral Home.

Remembrances may be made to the National Diabetes Association.



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