NICHOLS, Leota LaBelle (nee Griffin) ( Bailey) 1913-2003

BAILEY, GRIFFIN, NICHOLS, PROCHASKA

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 11/17/2009 at 22:30:48

Leota LaBelle Nichols -- 1913-2003

Leota L. (Bailey) Nichols, 89, of Portland, Oregon, died Monday, Feb. 17, 2003, at Woodland Park Hospital, Portland, Oregon.

Funeral services will be held at the Clasen-Jordan Mortuary, 209 Second Ave. NW, in Austin. Concluding rites and interment will follow at the Wayne Cemetery in McIntire, Iowa.

Leota LaBelle was born Dec. 26, 1913, near Ross, N.D., to Orville and Pauline (Prochaska) Griffin. She was raised and educated in the Missouri River Bottom community.

She married Clair Austin Bailey in 1928 in Little Cedar, Iowa. They lived in McIntire, Iowa until 1936, when they moved to Austin, Minn. Leota was preceded in death by her husband, Clair, in 1954, after 27 years of marriage.

On Dec. 4, 1978, Leota married Harold Bailey Nichols in Tacoma, Wash. They wintered in Hemet, Calif. with her two sisters and returned to their Winlock home in the spring. Leota was preceded in death by her husband, Harold, on March 6, 1997, after 18 years of marriage.

Following Harold's death, Leota moved to Banks, Oregon, to reside with her daughter and family. In December of 2002, Leota moved to the Oregon Baptist Assisted Living Center in Portland.

Leota worked as a baker for the Sacred Heart Hospice in Austin, Minn. for six years. In 1963, she received her diploma as a beautician from the Austin Vocational School. For several years, Leota worked as a beautician for the residents of Sacred Heart Hospice, and also at Inez Beauty Shop.

While living in Austin, Leota was a member of Crane Chapel Church and, after moving to Winlock, Wash., she attended the Winlock Methodist Church, where she participated in the women's Bible study group.

She enjoyed baking, photography, her Christian activities and traveling to visit her son and old friends. Leota loved her family and spending time with her grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Madeline Griffin; and son, Everett Austin Bailey in 1935.

Survivors include son and daughter-in-law, Oneta Pauline and Douglas Holz, Banks, Ore.; sisters and brother-in-law, Olive and Kenneth Riersgard, Moscow, Idaho; and Orma Meyers, Hemet, Calif.; six grandchildren and their spouses, Dion and Lisa Hanson, Hudson, Wis.; Desiree and Thomas Getner, Mulino, Ore.; John and Jen Bailey, Grand Forks, N.D.; Jim and Amy Bailey, Chanhassen, Minn.; Melissa Bailey, Winona, Minn.; Amber Holz, Banks, Ore.; six nieces and nephews, Roberta Meyers, Phillip Riersgard, Marsha Hyde and Linda Riersgard.

Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral Home in Forest Grove is in charge of the Oregon Arrangements. Clasen-Jordan Mortuary in Austin is in charge of Minnesota arrangements.

Austin Daily Herald, Feb. 20, 2003