Linda Mary Lange
July 14, 1948 - Oct. 23, 2021

On Saturday October 23, 2021, an angel took my beautiful wife and mother of our children.

“I was born on July 14,1948 in the hallway in Dallas, Oregon hospital. My parents were Roy and Lola Woodhurst.”

Linda’s older sister is Janyce, later her two brothers Johnny and Roy came along.

“Janyce and I could be found as children in the rolling open fields on Table Bluff Ocean View Ranch. In August of 1964, I met my soulmate and best friend Arthur Lange. Art and I shared the same birthday, only being five years apart and lived about 50 miles apart. We were so much alike it came as no surprise we were married December 5, 1964. Our family grew in September 1966 as our son Terry Lange was born, followed by Diana L. Morgan, who was born in 1970.”

“As a family we did everything together and enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, traveling and even gold mining and yes, we did find gold! Arthur and I enjoyed traveling to many National Parks in our retirement years. We also liked collecting antiques, rocks, Native baskets, and other trinkets. I loved to draw animals and could be found with a pencil in hand.”

“I would like to be remembered as a good wife, mother, and friend.”

Linda is survived by her husband Arthur Lange, her children Terry Lange and Diana Morgan, her grandchildren Mathew Lange, Melody Wolf, James Holdner and Alicia Morgan. In laws Michelle Steel, Pauline, Jerry Christy and many more.

On behalf of the Lange family, they extend their heartfelt gratitude to

• Grace Mcatasny and staff at United Indian Health
  
• Dr. Hardy and staff
  
• St. Joseph Oncology/ Hematology
• Hospice Care of Humboldt
• Linda Kangas
• Diane Munoz
• Wiyot Tribe
• Bill and Dot Renynolds
• Rick and Dennis Ellsworth and Family
• Pat Barton

And too many families and friends to mention.

“Just know I loved everyone and loved my life to the fullest.”

Celebration of life will be held on November 13, 2021, at 11 a.m. at the Wiyot Tribal Office Community Center, located at 1000 Wiyot Dr., Loleta. Please bring a dish as a potluck will follow.

Please bring your mask and follow all social mitigations that are in place due to COVID-19.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Linda Lange’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

Eureka Police Department press release:

On October 25, 2021, at about 1:00 a.m., officers with the Eureka Police Department responded to an apartment on the 300 block of W Del Norte Street in Eureka for the report of a male with a laceration to his stomach. Once on scene, officers contacted a 40-year-old male who had a visible stab wound to the abdomen. Humboldt Bay Fire and City Ambulance responded and transported the male to the hospital with a critical injury. The male victim is now recovering.

Initial statements on scene suggested that the male had been stabbed in an unknown alley by an unknown suspect. However, after further investigation by detectives, it was determined that the male had been stabbed with a 2’ long sword by his roommate, 40-year-old Dustin Scott Latham of Eureka, inside of their apartment on W Del Norte Street.

On November 3, 2021, detectives with the Eureka Police Department served a search warrant at the apartment. Latham was located inside and was placed under arrest for attempted murder. Latham was transported and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

Eureka Police Department press release: 

On November 3, 2021, Detectives with the Eureka Police Department’s Problem Oriented Policing Team (POP), with the assistance from Special Agents with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force, responded to an apartment on the 500 block of 5th Street in Eureka to serve a search warrant after receiving numerous complaints that 37- year-old Christopher John Smith, AKA Christopher Littlejohn, of Eureka, was selling narcotics and was in possession of firearms. Smith is a convicted felon and is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition.

Four people were detained while the search warrant was served

During a search of the apartment, Smith and four other subjects were detained inside. Detectives located a loaded 9mm pistol which had been previously reported as stolen during a residential burglary in Eureka, approximately one ounce of Fentanyl, approximately one ounce of methamphetamine, approximately half an ounce of heroin and numerous scales and packaging material consistent with the sales of narcotics.

Smith was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a loaded firearm while possessing a controlled a substance, possession of stolen property and two counts of possession of controlled substances for sales.

Convicted killer Jason Ryan Barnes was sentenced this morning to four years in state prison, but with jail-time credit he could be free in about a year.

A jury convicted Barnes of involuntary manslaughter for the December 2018 death of 58-year-old Bernhard “Ben” Bertain, who died of a ruptured spleen three days after Barnes struck him with a skateboard. Barnes faced a maximum penalty of eight years.

Judge Timothy Canning imposed four years for assault with a deadly weapon. He sentenced Barnes to three years for a second count of assault with a deadly weapon, but that term will run concurrently.

Barnes, 49, received no time for involuntary manslaughter or for the two special allegations of use of a deadly weapon and inflicting great bodily. Canning announced sentences for those charges but “stayed” them, meaning they weren’t imposed.

“Judge Canning just sentenced Mr. Barnes as if he had swung the skateboard at Mr. Bertain and missed,” Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees said after the hearing.

One of the jurors who voted to convict Barnes in May attended the sentencing, hoping for some closure. Juror Dave Silverbrand said the jury deliberated two full days and ultimately decided to convict. Silverbrand said he remains comfortable with the verdict.

After learning this morning that Barnes could be out in about a year, Silverbrand said “Holy Moly! That’s barely enough time for him to pack and unpack his things.”

Judge Canning said Barnes expressed deep remorse when he learned Bertain had died, and he “has been very concerned and remorseful throughout these proceedings.”

The trial was unusual, with Canning dismissing charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter midway through. The jury convicted Barnes of involuntary manslaughter, the only remaining option.

The fatal assault occurred on Dec. 22, 2018, in a parking lot outside a laundromat in Burre Center in Eureka. A laundromat employee heard screaming and went out to find Barnes verbally abusing a woman who was sitting on a curb and asking to be left alone.

Bertain, who had been watching, intervened and asked Barnes to stop. Instead Barnes swung his skateboard at Bertain and the employee, missing her but hitting Bertain in the side. Barnes then hit Bertain again.

Three days later, after being flown to a hospital In Napa, Bertain died from a ruptured spleen.

Six of Bertain’s family members were in court this morning, with several of them speaking. Bertain was one of four brothers, and two of them were there on his behalf.

“I really don’t know what to say to Mr. Barnes,” Drew Bertain said. He described his brother Ben as a caring person “who would go out of his way to help a perfect stranger he’d never met.”

Looking at Barnes, who was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and standing in the jury box, Drew Bertain told him “I really don’t want to have any bad feelings for you.” Barnes nodded.

“I just hope your life changes and you make better choices when you come out.”

Charley Bertain, another brother, wasn’t as easy on Barnes.

“I hope he gets the maximum time he can get for this unfortunate situation,” he said.

Susan Mendes, a cousin, also said she hoped for “the fullest sentence.” Mendes said Ben was a loving man, simple and honest, who died because “he stood up for a woman.”

Her husband Mike Mendes, calling Ben “a great man,” echoed his wife’s sentiments.

“I just hope the court puts everything on (Barnes’s) back that he earned,” he said.

At the time of his death Ben Bertain was living in a storage unit in Arcata. Family members said he had other options, but that was the lifestyle he liked.

“He chose what he was doing and where he lived,” Drew Bertain said. “He wanted his freedom.”

Barnes also spoke briefly. He turned to family members and said how sorry he was, and he asked for forgiveness.

Barnes’s mother, Vicki Thomsen, told the judge her son never got in any trouble until he was about 20, and then it was “slight trouble.” She went on to place blame on Barnes’s former girlfriend, the woman he was accosting in the Burre Center parking lot.

The woman was always making trouble, Thomsen said, noting that “she even got me evicted from my apartment.”

“She wasn’t a good match for Jason. She knew how to push his buttons.”

Thomsen said she feels “truly sorry” for Bertain’s family.

“I hope they can forgive him,” she said.

The former girlfriend was Desiree Henley, who will be remembered as one of two suspects in the arson fire that destroyed the Blue Heron motel on Broadway.

Barnes was represented by Deputy Public Defender David Celli, who last week lost a motion for a new trial. Celli argued the evidence presented during trial didn’t support the jury’s verdict of guilty.

There wasn’t conclusive evidence, Celli said, that the skateboard attack was the cause of Bertain’s death.

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Press release from Providence:

Providence in Humboldt County is excited to announce plans are underway for a brand-new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Redwood Memorial Hospital (RMH) in Fortuna. The new ICU will include four spacious, technologically advanced rooms, including two negative-pressure (isolation) rooms which will allow for the treatment of patients with airborne illnesses like COVID. The RMH ICU sees more than 340 patients each year. The current ICU has zero negative-pressure rooms and patients requiring that level of care are typically transferred to Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka.

A new ICU will touch almost all areas of the hospital including:

• Surgery and the Medical Surgical Unit — a new ICU will allow more complicated surgeries and procedures to be performed, knowing that elevated care is just a door away.
• Emergency Department — having the ability to stabilize and treat patients who present to the Emergency Department with common illnesses that require several days of critical care. 
• Staff recruitment and retention — having a modern, sophisticated ICU will help with the recruitment of physicians, nurses, and specialists to all areas of RMH, and help ensure their longevity in the Eel River Valley.

The new ICU space will include:

• A modern, state-of-the-art space with the latest equipment and technology.
• A nurse’s station with “eyes-on” every patient room, plus privacy for all patients.
• Windows or skylights in every room.
• Reduced noise levels.
• Spacious areas for staff.
• Reassurance for the community that Providence is committed to keeping an ICU and providing the highest quality of care for the Eel River Valley now and in the future.

Recognizing the importance of this service model, generous community donors have stepped forward and pledged their support, including the Murphy Family with a gift of $835,000. The Murphy family goes back seven generations in the Eel River Valley. Their roots are intertwined with the timber industry, as the family that started Pacific Lumber Company in the early 1900s.

The Murphy’s were a major part of the opening of Redwood Memorial Hospital and have supported it since its inception in 1957. Stanwood and Suzanne Murphy were champions of RMH and when Stanwood passed in 1972, the family established the Murphy Fund. Designated for construction projects at RMH, this fund honors the family’s commitment to the hospital and the caregivers who cared for Stanwood.

The Murphy children and grandchildren continue the giving tradition through philanthropy, service, and helped establish Suzanne’s House in 2004—an affordable place to stay when a loved-one is being treated at RMH. Suzanne passed away in 2012.

“Suzanne truly cared about this hospital and wanted to support improvements in patient care. She would have loved to be part of this project, and for us to see her wishes happening, it means so much to honor her legacy this way.” said Pam Murphy, Stanwood and Suzanne’s daughter-in-law, and long-time supporter of RMH.

The Murphys believe that Redwood Memorial is critical to the Eel River Valley. Suzanne Murphy expressed a desire to bring a new ICU to RMH decades ago. The family is pleased to honor the legacy of Stanwood and Suzanne by donating the additional funds to make, in total, a $1 million contribution to the hospital toward the successful construction and opening of the Murphy Family Intensive Care Unit.

“The family is committed to the important role of Redwood Memorial Hospital in the Eel River Valley and to helping make this new ICU happen,” continued Murphy.

Providence is equally grateful for other community members who have invested in the new ICU, including the McLean Foundation ($625,000) and Providence Redwood Memorial Foundation Board ($250,000).

“We are eternally grateful for the philanthropy of donors like the Murphy Family,” said Roberta Luskin-Hawk, MD, chief executive for Providence in Humboldt County. “Their gift, along with our other generous donors, will greatly impact and benefit our community both today and in years to come.”

The public is invited to support the new ICU at Redwood Memorial Hospital. The annual Benefit Ball virtual fundraiser is this Saturday, Nov. 6, at 6:00 p.m, and all proceeds will go towards the new ICU at RMH. The theme this year is “Redwood Memorial and the Raiders of the Lost ICU.” To register, the community can email Jennifer.Partsafas@stjoe.org to receive log-in information. Silent and live auctions will be open for bidding Friday, Nov. 5 at noon. To check out the details and auction items, go to https://redwoodmemorial.ejoinme.org/benefitball. For additional support opportunities, please contact Beci at 269-4201.

Providence in Humboldt County is committed to meeting the highest standards in health care delivery while ministering to the needs of the whole person – body, mind and spirit. This commitment to the people of the North Coast is expressed in the Providence’s five core values – Compassion, Dignity, Excellence, Justice and Integrity.  In Humboldt County, Providence offers a comprehensive network of specialty care and services including a Level III Trauma Center, Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and a Cancer Center Accredited by the Commission on Cancer.  The health care ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange began in Humboldt County during the flu epidemic of 1918.

Amanda Lee Ring, mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, farmer, doula, advocate for mothers and children, trailblazer, mystic, healer, story teller, music lover, light holder, truth seeker, community leader and world traveler, transitioned from this life the second week of August in California, her state of residence for over 17 years. She is survived by her five-year-old twin daughters, Maya Rose and Amira Chel. She leaves behind her loving mother Faith and husband Everitt, older brother Bobby and his wife Kelly along with their three children, Ryder, Charlotte and Quentin, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

She also leaves her partner of many years Gabe Oppegaard and his family, Nancy, Rick, Kate and Joseph, who considered Amanda one of their own, and countless friends both close to home and across the world. Amanda knew life was a precious gift and lived each day with the drive to find and spread joy.

Amanda was born on February 26, 1982 and raised in Allentown, Penn., where she resided until her young adult years when Northern California called her name. She endured the difficult losses in her young adult years of her dear older sister Kelly and then her father, Robert Ring. It gave her an early opportunity to experience life in a deeper way that meant she appreciated the small and simple moments while also dreaming big. These losses and their anniversary dates were important to Amanda that each year she’d make a point to honor them by releasing her tears at her favorite site in nature, the dynamic Elk Head trail where windy cliffs meet the sea.

Amanda met Gabe Oppegaard in Northern California, where they spent 13 years together growing their family and building a life. Amanda always knew she wanted to have children. Amanda was made to be a mother and when she welcomed the twins into the world, everyone knew she would grasp motherhood with ease and integrity. She gave the girls the best start in life anyone could hope for with her skills and love for them. She was a mother of wisdom, grit, compassion and joy. The girls and their mom had a special bond that will never be forgotten. She often would tell the story of how she always knew she would have twins and when she welcomed Amira and Maya, it was what she had always dreamed about for her life.

Amanda was a woman with many gifts and had numerous success stories to show for it. After giving birth to her two daughters she found a new love of working with pregnant women before, during and after birth. This allowed her to keep her babies close while studying a new trade, but quickly started to offer her services to the community by becoming a doula. Shortly thereafter, Amanda became a facilitator for the national postpartum support group Motherwoman, providing a safe place of mutual respect and non-judgement for mothers to build community and support one another as they navigated the realities of motherhood. Amanda’s natural caregiving abilities allowed her to succeed in supporting pregnant and postpartum mothers and their families.

Other activities Amanda held very close to her heart were studying ancient mysticism and the way of the medicine wheel, honoring the cycles of the cosmos and Mother Earth. She loved listening to music and attending live concerts, circling in sacred ceremonies, and traveling both nationally and internationally. Her favorite places to visit were Belize, Guatemala, the Hawaiian Islands, Mount Shasta, Chaco Canyon, N.M., Colorado, and Vashon, Wash. It was Gabe and Amanda’s first visit to Belize that made way for the introduction of their mystical mentor and teacher and many other Belize and Guatemalan family friends, to whom they would grow very close as well. Her studies of the ancient Maya Rainbow Warriors coupled with the love for their Mayan friends are what brought Gabe and her back to Central America for nearly a decade to celebrate the Spring Equinox. Amanda was taken in by many in Guatemala as part of their family, especially the Ortiz family to which she had a special bond. Amanda also had a special friendship with a Belizean artist named Robinson who Amanda took in as an 8-year-old child and supported his artistry for over a decade. Gabe and Amanda brought their twin daughters, whose names were inspired from this culture, down to meet their Mayan family twice which was incredibly important to Amanda. The last trip that Amanda had to Guatemala, she was invited to participate in an elder Mayan equinox ceremony, something in which she regarded highly. It was a magical experience for Amanda and her family and something in which she always hoped to go back again as it was now a ritual for her.

Amanda was also a dedicated steward of the Earth and in her maiden early twenties she performed one of her first big acts of service work with Americorps. Amanda had a special touch with plants, growing food and/or plant medicines much of her adult life. This eventually led to her co-creating Mothership Farm, a community supported farm. This marked a great time for Amanda with a marriage of her love of gardening and working with mothers and children. Amanda’s love for Mothership Farm in Fieldbrook allowed her to create a community of volunteers to come and grow food, learn farming skills and be able to teach their children the ways of the land. The motto of the farm was “community grown, mother made and children loved.” Amanda poured her heart and soul and many hours of labor into the farm to make it a success. She had developed big dreams and goals for Mothership Farm and was seeing her vision through when this tragic accident came to be.

Amanda had a caring and magnetic personality. She had a way of quickly earning the respect of almost everyone who encountered her because she made them feel seen and heard. She also had a knack for entertaining people in her vicinity with her humor and fascinating travel stories. Amanda could be joined in her happiness easily with her contagious, big belly laugh. These qualities made it natural for her to build community around her. She loved her friends like family and would do anything for anybody. She was patient, kind and loving with all of her heart. She was always up for an adventure and enjoyed the beach, river days and the redwoods, and most of all having a bonfire (even if it was raining or windy- she would always make it happen).

Amanda left this earth as a loved and respected woman at the age of 39. She was at an immensely inspired time in her life where she had seen many dreams and visions come to fruition that she’d been cultivating for some years. She was loved by many in her community far and wide. She inspired many to move her work forward including farming, spending time enjoying nature and with the ones you love. She reminds us all to live life to the fullest and her community will miss her dearly.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Amanda Ring’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

Randy E. Church Sr. passed away in the early morning of Friday, October 29, 2021, in Fortuna. Randy was born on October 16, 1961, in Fortuna to Jack Owsley and Margret Church. Randy was the youngest of many sibling: George, Keith, Leonard, Robert and Terry Owsley, Sandy, Robert, Donna, Mary, Judy and David Church. Randy grew up in Fortuna, in the Rohnerville neighborhood. He attended Fortuna High School and made many friends and memories partying. Randy was a life long Fortuna resident and enjoyed running into friends and reminiscing about the good old days.

Randy married Linda Martin in 1983 on Valentine’s day. Randy felt at home with the Martin family, he was already friends with Linda’s older brothers Moses and Jack. Linda’s father, Thomas Martin, and Randy worked on cars together and Martin offered him life advice. Randy and Linda welcomed their oldest child, Kari, in June of 1983. Randy was insistent that he have a son to carry on his name; Randy Jr. was born in January of 1988. He taught his children to hunt, fish, drive aggressively and waive with one finger. Every morning before work, he kissed his sleeping children goodbye and told them he loved them.

In his late teens and early twenties, Randy worked for the Campton Heights Water Company with his brother David. In the mid-eighties, he went to work for Don E. Nolan Trucking as a grease monkey. Randy quickly realized he wanted to drive logging trucks, not maintain them. His favorite thing was driving logging truck on the narrow winding dirt roads. Randy worked for Nolan’s until they shut down. In 2005, Randy returned to driving logging truck for Steve Wills Trucking. Randy made many dear friends and memories while driving truck. When Randy came home at night, he had stories to tell from his day’s adventure in the woods. He always used creative language, which Linda tirelessly corrected; she was unsuccessful.

Randy enjoyed outdoor activities and would spend much of his free time 4-wheeling at the beach or river bar. At young ages he taught his children to drive stick shift, in the Mighty Samurai, on the river bar. Randy regularly took his son’s good friends Eric, Dustin, Kyle, and SF James fishing and 4-wheeling. He taught them many life lessons, especially things you should not do. Randy also enjoyed fishing with his father-in law Martin. Since they both had pot belly’s and wore stylish suspenders people often assumed Martin was Randy’s father. Randy was a race fan and could be found with Martin, Randy Jr., Linda, and friend Rusty Saturday nights at Redwood Acres Raceway. Randy also enjoyed Friday nights roller skating with his children at the Fortuna Fireman’s Pavilion, he was surprisingly agile.

Randy is survived by his dedicated wife Linda Church, son Randy Church Jr., daughter Kari Hayter, son in-law Russell Hayter, and granddaughters Madilyn and Charlotte Hayter. Siblings: George and his wife Mary, Keith, Leonard, Robert and Terry Owsley; Donna Tabor (Jack), Mary Anderson (Chet) and Judy Ramsland. Brother in-law and close long-time friend Moses Martin. Sister in-laws and husbands that were close friends: Kathy and Mark Davidson, Pamela and David Ivey, and rival Anita Sullivan. Randy is preceded in death by: parents Jack Owsley and Margret Lee, step-father Ernie Lee, brothers Robert, Sandy, David, in-laws Thomas and Rosemary Martin, their children Jack and Laurie Martin, and beloved dog Domino.

A celebration of life will he held on Saturday, November 6 at 1 o’clock in the afternoon at the Fortuna Veterans Memorial Building.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Randy Church’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.