HILTON, Elmer Darrell

Elmer Hilton Baker City, 1939-2014 Elmer Darrell Hilton, 75, of Baker City, died Feb. 27, 2014, at St. Alphonsus Care Center in Baker City. His memorial service will be Sunday, March 9, at 2 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the Baker City Nazarene Church, 1250 Hughes Lane. Elmer was born on Feb. 14, 1939, at Tucumcari, N.M. He grew up in the life of a cowboy. Raised in Eastern New Mexico, Darrell’s greatest hero was his grandfather, Papa Hilton, who taught him to rope and ride, and the ethics of being a good man. Darrell later moved with his family to Tucson, Ariz., where he met and married his high school sweetheart, and raised three daughters and a son. He was a member of the Operating Engineers and worked on sites all over Arizona. In 1980 he moved to Oregon where he remarried and had another daughter, and gained two stepsons. He resumed his cowboy life, working for the Baker Auction Yard, building saddles, and ranching. Above all, Darrell loved his family. He loved to hunt and fish, and of course to rope and ride. After his retirement, he remarried and moved to Seneca, where he had time to play golf, raise horses, enjoy his nine grandchildren, and play his guitar. Last fall he moved to Baker City with his loving companion, Ada McMillan, to be nearer to family. Darrell is survived by his daughter, Josey Gaslin, her husband, Rob, and grandchildren Kalina, Harris and Henry, all of Baker City; his stepson, Neil Chaney, his wife, Frances, and children Neil John, Noah, and Abbigail, all of Prineville; his stepson, Ryan Chaney, his wife, Kristin, and children Tyce, Jaimon and Treyson, all of Salem; his daughter, Janie Vanneste, her husband, Mike, grandson, Philip, and great-granddaughter, Ella, all of Tucson; his daughter, Carol Cornell, and her husband, Ray, of Chino Valley, Ariz.; his daughter, Terri Kreoning and her husband, Dale, of Tucson; his son, Steven Flanagan of Flagstaff, Ariz.; and his brother, Kenton Hubble of Pennsylvania. Darrell was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Sally Hilton of Seneca; and his sister, Phyllis Hilton of Kansas. Donations may be made to the St. Alphonsus Medical Center Foundation (Billie Ruth Bootsma Clinic) or the Baker High School Rodeo Club, through Gray’s West & Company, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814. bakercityherald.com 7 March 2014