The life of Shirley Joan Gatzke — born December 11, 1931 and passing on June 28, 2022 — was celebrated on Sunday, August 21, 2022.

Her two sons, Dave and Mark, and daughter, Debbie, were joined by her son-in-law, Steve, Steve’s sister Susan, daughter-in-law Carol, and grandchildren Ben, Nicole, Colin and Brandon, and Colin’s girlfriend, Michelle and her daughter for a family gathering beginning at the river.

Memories were shared of fishing trips and time floating on the river. Shirley was never much of a fisherman, but she loved to read. So she and Russ made a good team — one fishing and one reading.

The family traveled north to the beach remembering Shirley’s love of agate hunting, playing in the sand, and roasting hot dogs.

This special morning culminated with a visit to Shirley’s butterfly garden where memories of gardening, raspberries, blueberries, apples, the ice cream tree, and target practice were shared. Everyone picked two agate from the collection-one to keep and one to place in the garden. Two plaques were placed to remember Shirley and Russ, who passed in 2011. They will always be together in a placed they loved.

Alexandra, Shirley’s granddaughter, will visit on August 27th to complete our family celebration.

Shirley had six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She loved to play cards and had a room in her home ready to play at a moment’s notice. Shirley also enjoyed her visits to the McKinleyville Senior Center and the wonderful friends she made there.

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The obituary above was submitted by Shirley Gatzke’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Shirley Parker
December 10, 1931-August 23, 2022

On August 23, we lost our loving mother, grandmother, aunt and friend. Shirley was born December 10, 1931, in Sedro-Wooley, Washington. She has now gone to join her Lord and Savior and join our father.

Shirley graduated high school in Sedro-Wooley, where she met the love of her life, Wayne Parker. The two married on February 9, 1951 and enjoyed 55 years of marriage before his passing in 2006.

Shirley’s family was always her priority in life. She loved all the time she spent with each and all of them.

Shirley is survived by her three children, Vickie and husband Steven Osborne, Kathy and husband Jerry Young, and John and his wife Doreen Parker. Her grandchildren Joselyn and husband BJ Moss, Kasidy Parker, Codey Young, Stephanie and husband Tommy Antoni, Daniel and wife Kim Osborne, Matthew and wife Alyssa Osborne, Ann and husband Chad Lannom, Jerry William and wife Jennifer Young, Megan and husband Vitaliy Pilopovich. Ten great-grandchildren and two great great-grandchildren, with a third on the way, three nephews and two nieces.

Shirley was preceded in death by her husband Wayne, grandson Derek, her mother Mae Kerlee, her in-laws John and Bertha Parker, her sister Evelyn and brother-in-law Lloyd Armey, niece Sandy and two sister-in-laws Jean and Willyne.

The family would like to thank Rebecca and the other Hospice nurses for their care and support. We would also like to express our appreciation for the wonderful neighbors mom had that looked out for her. A very special thank you to Judy Butler for her invaluable help.

Graveside services will be held Wednesday, August 31, at 1 p.m. at Ocean View Cemetery. Arrangements are under the care of Sanders Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of Humboldt or St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital.

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The obituary above was submitted by Shirley Parker’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Self-taught documentarian Ray Olson is back with another edition of his local travel series “Humboldt Outdoors.”

In today’s episode, Olson travels up to the Wolf Creek Education Center in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park for a few days of summer camp fun with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Cal Poly Humboldt. 

Olson joins OLLI staff and fellow campers on hikes through the redwoods, lessons in surf fishing and botanical diversity, songs around the campfire and more.

Check out Olson’s video to learn more about OLLI and this beautiful place we call home!

PREVIOUSLY:

The Inflation Reduction Act is the largest single action taken by the United States against the climate crisis ever. Roughly $370 million will go to a variety of eco-groovy things, from rebates for consumers for things like solar panels or heat pumps to tax incentives for large renewable power projects.

How will this impact the North Coast? Gang Green investigates.

AUDIO:

“The EcoNews Report,” Aug. 27, 2022

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From the command of the Six Rivers Lightning Complex:

The Six Rivers Lightning Complex remains in unified command with California Interagency Incident Management Team 14, California Highway Patrol, Trinity County Sheriff, and Humboldt County Sheriff. The Six Rivers Lightning Complex is currently 29,815 acres with 80% containment and 1,970 personnel assigned to the incident.

CURRENT SITUATION The low visibility from smoke may have limited the use of aircraft Friday, but the slight drop in temperatures and rise in relative humidity once again helped to dampen fire intensity.

The Ammon Fire is looking better each day. Firefighters check and recheck containment lines as they continue to mop up hot spots, watching for spot fires and rollout. Firefighters working on the Campbell Fire, have made great progress. In steep, rugged terrain with thick vegetation, the objective of preparing for and conducting defensive firing operations continued throughout the day Friday. The major focus for several days has been defensive firing. As the firing continues, the strength of the primary control line ahead of the advancing fire front increases. The firing operations that took place Friday should be considered a win. The progress made was substantial and critical to the success of the Lone Pine Ridge control line.

Although fire intensity was dampened Friday, the main fire front of the Campbell Fire continues to spread toward planned control lines. In anticipation of potential fire spread, firefighters are also working on structure defense preparations south and southeast of the Campbell Fire. These actions are being taken as the fire progresses south, toward areas with no recent fire history.

Please check https://outlooks.airfire.org/outlook/65384a03 for air quality resources.

COMMUNITY MEETINGS

To provide our communities with the most accurate and up to date information, two community meetings have been scheduled. Those attending in-person or virtually will hear from Incident Command staff and local leaders. Virtually at: www.facebook.com/SixRiversNF

Saturday, August 27th, 2022, 10:00 a.m.

Hawkins Bar Volunteer Fire Department

71 Trinity Court

Burnt Ranch, CA 95527

Sunday, August 28th, 2022, 3:00 p.m.

Hoopa Fire Department and OES

11120 CA-96

Hoopa, CA 95546

 CLOSURES

Due to a large presence of fire personnel and machinery working to build containment lines for the Ammon Fire, residents are asked to limit travel on Titlow Hill Road/Route 1 in zones HUM-E052 and HUM-E062 to essential traffic only. Residents may still use roads to travel out of evacuation order zones:

The following roads into evacuation zones have been closed.
-        Forest Route 7n15 at Six Rivers Forest Boundary
The following roads are restricted to local traffic only:
-        Horse Linto Creek Road at Saddle Lane (Open to residents only)
-        6N06 Sandy Bar (Route 6)
-        Titlow Hill Road (Route 1) at Horse Mountain Botanical Area 

State Route 299 remains open to through traffic. Residents are encouraged to visit http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ to check for state highway closures.

EVACUATION UPDATES

For the latest evacuation information go to Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services (https://humboldtgov.org/2383/Current-Emergencies) or Trinity County Office of Emergency Services (https://www.trinitycounty.org/OES). For an interactive map of evacuation zones visit: https://community.zonehaven.com/. To sign up for alerts: www.humboldtgov.org/alerts.

EVACUATION WARNING EXTENDED on 8/26

Due to the progression of fire behavior, zone HUM-E032-C has been consolidated with zone HUM-E032 and is now under an Evacuation Warning.

EVACUATION ORDERS remain in effect for zones: HUM-E058 and HUM-E061-A.

EVACUATION WARNINGS remain in effect for zones:

HUM-E062, HUM-E063, HUM-E076-B, HUM-E077, Zone 483 - Fisher Road and all residences off of Fisher Road, Trinity Village, Wallen Ranch Road.

Zone 482 - Suzy Q Road and all roads off of Suzy Q Road

Zone 480 - Ziegler Point Road / Forest Service Road 7N04

An EVACUATION WARNING remains in effect for Campbell Ridge Road from Salyer Heights to Seeley McIntosh Road. Salyer area, including Galaxy Road, and the area of Ziegler Point Road/Forest Service Road 7N04 have been reduced to an Evacuation Warning.

ANIMAL EVACUATION CENTER Hoopa Rodeo Grounds 1767 Pine Creek Rd., Hoopa, CA 95546 Phone: (707) 492-2851

Phyllis Elaine Stark, was born May 19, 1939 to Royal and Edna Fletcher in Eureka. She passed away peacefully shortly after midnight on August 20, 2022, joining her beloved husband, Johnny, and daughter, Paula Marie, just in time to celebrate their birthday with them on the other side.

From her white bathing suit with the red and blue stars to the time she lost her balance on her roller skates (while flirting with a neighborhood boy, of course), her ability to paint colorful pictures through stories of her cherished past provided an invaluable glimpse at the life events that made her the woman we all loved.

Her fondest memories almost always involved at least one sibling or family member, which comes as no surprise considering how many of those she had! As the youngest sibling of eight, she never had to walk through life alone. Whether it was avoiding the two seater outhouse with her brother Newell, sharing outfits with her sister, Evelyn, learning to swim thanks to Carl, or helping raise her countless nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly - her greatest pride was her family.

Phyllis spent her childhood years in the small town of South Fork on the Eel River, moving to Eureka in her early teen years. She always shared what a change it was, going from such a small community to a bustling metropolis like Eureka. She’d always laugh about her first days at Eureka High and how her swim teacher put her in the beginner group - only to find out that just because she didn’t know how to do the butterfly, didn’t keep her from quickly being identified as the strongest swimmer in the class.

She was a beautiful and charismatic young woman — even trying her hand as a local beauty queen, proudly posing on the diving board of the Ingomar Club. Her friends were, and continue to be, too abundant to count. Her stories of boys and dates and Friday night cruising could have been straight out of a movie, but the true love story began when she met the mostly mild-mannered man who would eventually make her his wife in Reno, Nevada on February 25, 1961.

Phyllis and Johnny spent much of the early years of their marriage with their friends at their favorite spots, including the Shanty and the Big Four. In marrying John, she also gained one of the dearest friends of her life in her sister-in-law and next-door neighbor, Mary Winder. The love, laughter, and shenanigans that began with Phyllis and Mary within the walls of those two houses has continued to overflow from generation to generation to this very day.

John and Phyllis started their own family with the birth of their eldest daughter, Lori Anne, in May 1964, just shy of Phyllis’s 25th birthday. Their second daughter, Jennifer, born in November1968, and was blessed with Phyllis’s middle name, and their third and last, Paula Marie, was born on John’s birthday, August 20, 1971.

Phyllis and the girls spent many deer and abalone seasons accompanying John up into the South Fork Mountains and down to Wages Creek along the coast of the Pacific. She was the girls’ most valuable ally as they entered their teen years - often covering up the evidence of their mischief before John ever caught on! She was immeasurably proud of her girls’ musical talents - telling stories of how much better their Jacobs Junior High jazz band was than the one at the High School.

She was known for her “hot cakes,” green beans in tomato sauce, and heaping piles of cookies covering the whole kitchen table during the holidays. She loved telling the story about the time John brought home a Christmas tree that nearly took up the whole living room and how she painstakingly placed silver tinsel, strand by strand, on each and every limb until the entire thing was sufficiently covered.

Phyllis spent many years as an instructional aid and playground monitor at Alice Birney Elementary School. She spoke fondly of Ken Meredith’s kindness and respect for the work she did in his classroom and of the bonds she created with the students and her co-workers, especially on their class trips to San Francisco.

As a true 49ers faithful - things could get interesting when her team played John’s — the Dallas Cowboys. On these occasions, you were guaranteed to find them watching from separate rooms - hollering playful jabs back and forth. Although she rarely missed a Niners game, Phyllis was an OG Gamer Babe for her San Francisco Giants baseball team. Her true love for the game has been passed down to her children and grandchildren and became a special connection between her and her older sister, Evelyn, who, without fail, could be counted on to call to remind Phyllis to change it to channel 38 because the game was about to start. Her love for the Giants is exemplified by the fact that there is a signed Matt Cain baseball placed strategically on a shelf between pictures of the only two other loves of her life - John Stark and John Wayne.

It’s hard to imagine anyone loving their grandchildren as much as Phyllis did. Just as she had with Lori, Jennifer, and Paula, she always had their backs. From spending countless hours in bleachers, watching Jessica, Kennan, and Heather play ball of one kind or another, to endlessly bragging about Cameron’s vast knowledge of history and enthusiasm for watching old movies with her, Phyllis was the grandma most can only dream of having. She never let any of us leave the house or hang up the phone without hearing her say “Love you, Babe”.

Although Phyllis may be physically gone from this earth, we can take comfort in knowing that she’s reunited with her Johnny and Paula Marie and all the others who have been waiting to greet her on the other side - where breathing is easy, Glenn Miller plays on repeat, and she’s always guaranteed the best seat at all the games. For those of us missing her earthside - she continues to live on in our laughter, loyalty, and love for one another, and would want us all to remember the joy that can be found in the simplest of moments.

Phyllis is preceded in death by her parents, husband John, daughter Paula, dearest friend and sister-in-law, Mary, brothers-in-law, George and Stan Stark; siblings, Jane Philp, Ed Fletcher, Carl Fletcher, Virginia Yegge, Marilyn Milligan, and Newell Fletcher, and many other aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who will be greeting her with open arms.

She is survived by her daughters Lori Stark and Jennifer Snipes (Ken); grandchildren Jessica Barnstien (Zane), Cameron Stark, Kennan Snipes, and Heather Snipes; sister, Evelyn Smith, and so many other friends and family who will miss her dearly.

A graveside service is scheduled for September 16 at 1 p.m. at Oceanview Cemetery. A memorial at the family home will immediately follow.

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The obituary above was submitted by Phyllis Stark’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Vinal Elmer Pack
Feb. 20, 1928 - Aug. 16, 2022

Vinal passed peacefully at home and went to be with his Lord on August 16th at the age of 94. He was a beloved husband, dad, brother, papa, great papa and uncle.

Vinal was born in Arcata to Elmer and Louise Pack on February 20, 1928. Three years and one day later his sister, Lodena, was born. Vinal and Lodena were raised with their first cousins Gene and Bob Cochran and the two families did most everything together, including church, Sunday meals, camping, family trips and going to the 1939 World’s Fair.

Vinal attended Arcata Grammar School and then graduated from Arcata High School in 1946. He played both basketball and baseball. Having enlisted in the Army, he served 18 months from 1946 to 1948 receiving both the WWII Victory Medal and Army of Occupation Medal Japan. On returning home from service, he attended two years at Humboldt State University majoring in business until he decided he wasn’t a student.

In 1951, Vinal met Neoma when his sister invited her co-worker to church. On their first or second date he told her “we will go together for awhile but I’m going to marry you.” Eleven months later, on August 23, 1952, Vinal and Neoma were married at the First Baptist Church of Arcata which was on 14th Street at that time. They began their life together with Neoma’s son, Fred, age 10. Four years later they welcomed a daughter Debbie. After almost seven more years they drove to San Francisco to welcome their much planned for second daughter Pam, by adoption. As a family there were many trips to Kansas to visit Neoma’s family as well as camping trips here in California.

Vinal worked mostly in the timber industry. For a time he worked for Christian’s Dairy as a milkman. He eventually went to work for Simpson Timber Company at the Korbel mill, where he worked for 25 years, 20 years grading lumber and the last five years on third shift cleanup when his department closed.

Vinal was a life long member of Arcata First Baptist Church. He loved the Lord and enjoyed serving his church. He sang in the choir, taught many Sunday School classes, was the head of Christian education, was on the Board of Trustees, head of the Deacon Board, served as an usher, was on the nance committee, and served on two pastoral search committees that brought Pastors Michael Petrillo and Dr Clay Ford. He volunteered with the Eureka Rescue Mission monthly playing the piano and taking turns giving the Christian message.

Vinal enjoyed vegetable gardening and for many years had a huge garden that he spent many hours tending. He also grew beautiful roses in both their Arcata home and then on Hidden Valley Rd in Bayside. He loved to read and would often read three to four books at one time. He had a lifetime love of movies beginning in his youth when he went to every change of movie at the Minor and Arcata Theaters. Vinal was a lifelong fan of the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Giants. He was able to watch the 49ers win their first preseason game and watch the Giants win while eating a big bowl of ice cream the night before he passed.

Vinal is survived by his daughters, Debra (Stan) Woodman and Pamela Notter; his sister Lodena Tidwell; six grandchildren, Melissa, Laura, Meredith, Emily, Justin and Lauren; 15 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Vinal was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years Neoma, his step-son Fred E. Brown and his parents Elmer and Louise. Vinal’s family is thankful for the care Vinal received through Agape Home Care for the past three and a half years. We are so glad we had Dad with us for 94 years. A small family graveside gathering was held at Greenwood Cemetery.

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The obituary above was submitted by Vinal Pack’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.