Saturday, September 17, 2011

Part IV - Obituaries of Tuolumne Hose Company Volunteers

Sonora, CA

    Here are three more obituaries of Tuolumne Hose Company Number 1 volunteers, starting with a very early member: William R. "Bill" Naismith.
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William R. NAISMITH
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Thursday 24 October 1963 [Sonora, CA] Daily Union Democrat, p.6
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William Naismith Dies At 83
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    William R. Naismith, an 83-year-old resident of Tuolumne, died yesterday in a local hospital following an extended illness.
    A native of Oakland, Mr. Naismith moved to Tuolumne in 1908 as manager for the Paul Morris general merchandise store, a position he held until the store closed in 1916. He also maintained a Tuolumne office of the First Nation Bank of Sonora before joining West Side Lumber Co. as a clerk and timekeeper.
    Mr. Naismith was advanced to the position of purchasing agent at West Side in 1940 and held that job until he was forced to retire because of ill health in 1957.
    Mr. Naismith was a past president of the Tuolumne City Progressive club, a member of St. James Episcopal church and a 50-year member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Oakland.
    He was a charter member of Tuolumne Hose Co. of volunteer firemen, having joined the unit in 1909, and retained his membership until his death. He served as secretary and manager of the company for many years.
    He is survived by his wife, Gertrude; a granddaughter, Mrs. Priscilla Isley, and six great grandchildren, all of Tuolumne. Patricia McCarthy of Tuolumne and Mrs. Verna Grisel of Castro Valley are nieces of Mrs. Naismith who were raised in the Naismith home in Tuolumne.
    Funer services are pending at the Heuton Memorial chapel.
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Louis M. GURNEY
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Monday 3 February 1958 [Sonora, CA] Union Democrat, p.2
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Louis Gurney Services Held This Morning
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    Funeral services for Louis Mark Gurney, 69, of Tuolumne, were conducted at the chapel of the Bigelow Mortuary followed by mass at 10 a.m. today in St. Joseph's Catholic Church at Tuolumne.
    Interment was in Carters Cemetery at Tuolumne.
    Rosary services were conducted at the chapel at 8 p.m. Sunday.
    Mr. Gurney, a longtime resident of Tuolumne, died at a Sonora hospital early Friday following an extended illness.
    A native of Bridgeport, he was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Gurney, who came to Tuolumne county when he was a boy and operated the Excelsior Hotel at Long Barn. His mother was a daughter of the late Mark Hughes, a pioneer Sonora postmaster. Mr. Gurney was employed for many years by the West Side Lumber Company at Tuolumne as forman of the company's log mill ponds.
    He leaves his widow, Mrs. Frances Gurney of Tuolumne; three daughters, Mrs. Kathryn Rotelli of Oakland, Mrs. Mary Frances Arnold of Washington, D.C., and Mrs. Audrey Kelley of Sonora; a son, James Gurney of Millbrae; a sister, Mrs. Julia Evans of Lafayette; two brothers, Marion Gurney of Tuolumne, and William Gurney of near Jamestown, and 10 grandchildren.
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Merle "Jiggs" DOWLING
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Obituary
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Wednesday 16 June 1993 [Sonora, CA] Union Democrat, p.2A
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    Merle Victor "Jiggs" Dolling, a retired West Side Lumber Co. employee and volunteer fire chief, died Monday at a Sonora hospital. He was 76.
    A native of Knights Ferry, he moved up the hill to Tuolumne in 1934 to work for West Side Lumber Co. He retired 44 years later.
    He was also retired from the Tuolumne Volunteer Fire Department, which he joined in 1949. He served as chief for many years.
    Aside from a three-year break, Mr. Dolling has been a member of the Mother Lode Firemen's Association since its inception in 1960, and worked for many years on the Columbia Fireman's Muster.
    He worked on just about every aspect of the musteer, serving as parade marshal in 1991, but chose the bucket brigade as his favorite. Tuolumne City adopted Mr. Dolling's version of the competition to use for the Tuolumne Fireman's Fun Day.
    He was a member of the Mother Lode Senior Citizens Club, the Tuolumne County Horseshoe Club, the AFL-CIO Lumber and Sawmill Union, and served as a trustee for Summerville High School.
    He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Bernice Dolling of Tuolumne. He is also survived by a son, Melvin Dolling of San Mateo; a brother, William Barter of Modesto; two sisters, Dorothy Hall of Manteca and Vadna Johnson of Riverbank; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
    He was preceded in death by his son, Eugene Dolling, in 1980.
    Visitation will be today from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Terzich and Wilson Chapel.
    Funeral services will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the Tuolumne chapel. Burial will be in Carters Cemetery.
    Donations in Mr. Dolling's name may be made to the Senior Citizens Building Fund, 540 Greenley Rd., Sonora.
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Links:

M 19 Sep Actual Route: Long Barn - Twain Harte - Tuolumne - Long Barn

T 20 Sep Actual Route: Long Barn - Mono Vista - Sonora - Long Barn

W 21 Sep Actual Route: Long Barn - Tuolumne - Long Barn

Th 22 Sep Route: Long Barn - Tuolumne - 3-Links Camp
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Finding Campgrounds:

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life or Woodalls for including links to their free campground lookups.

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