John V Terry Tulelake

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Herald and News 1/21/12

(HERE for John Terry's letter to Congress when the federal government denied farmers their irrigation water)

John V. Terry

John V. Terry passed away on Jan. 18, 2012, at the Plum Ridge Care Facility in Klamath Falls, Ore.

John was born on April 9, 1915, in Gladstone, Mo. He was the son of William Samuel Terry and Edna Mae McGorder.

John came to Tulelake in the early 1930s. Once in Tulelake, he was a member of the Civilian Conservation Camp and later worked for area farmers. While in the CCC, he fell in love with the rugged Lava Beds.

An ardent patriot, he enlisted in the Air Force following the attack on Pearl Harbor. While he was stationed in Greenville, Miss., he met and married Aline Simon, a native of Louisiana. At the conclusion of his time of military service, they, along when their then 2-year-old daughter Ona Lee, made their home on Akins Road near Tulelake. In 1949 John’s dreams came true when he was awarded a homestead on the east side of his beloved Lava Beds in Modoc County, a place he would call home for the remainder of his days. He loved to say “once a Modocer always a Modocer.” From that time forward, he engaged in running cattle on a part of the Klamath Reservation and the Pit River as well as farming and ranching on the homestead.

John held a special place in his heart for the Tulelake Butte Valley Fair. In 2009, he was named grand marshal of that fair. A longtime supporter of local 4-H and FFA, he was the leader of the Homestead Saddle Club during the 1950s. John’s special passions were hunting pheasants and deer and catching wild horses on the Devil’s Garden to break for ranch horses. Many members of the Panhandle and Coppock Bay 4-H clubs rode horses John caught for them. Living on the edge of the Lavas, John’s favorite pastime was exploring the rugged terrain, finding forgotten Modoc camps and exploring lost Indian caves.

He is preceded in death by his and Aline’s son John Patrick Terry, his father William Samuel Terry, his mother Edna Mae McGorder, his brothers William Terry, Leslie Terry, and Francis Terry, and his sister Mabel Terry.

Survivors include his wife Aline of Tulelake, daughters Ona Zumbro of Klamath Falls and Shirl Woodson of Willow Creek/Dorris, sons and daughter-in-law Dave Zumbro, Linda Terry, and Chuck Woodson, six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, sisters Dorothy Garrison of Longford, Kan., and Helen Ramey of Lebanon, Mo, along with numerous nephews and nieces.

Viewing will be held on Monday, Jan. 23, at Eternal Hills Funeral Home in Klamath Falls between 1 and 5 p.m. Services will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m. also at Eternal Hills Funeral Home with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the Tulelake Butte Valley Fair Museum in Tulelake.

Please sign the online guest book at www.heraldandnews.com/obituaries .

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