NIPPER, Frank

Frank Nipper, 89, of Durkee passed away peacefully in Baker City on June 30 of natural causes on June 30, 2014. Graveside services will be Friday, July 11, 2014 ~ 11 a.m. at the Durkee Cemetery. Friends of the family are invited after the service to a reception at the Durkee Community Center. Frank was born on July 31, 1924, in Buhl, Idaho, the third child of Arthur Nipper and Mary Cleveland Nipper. He attended school in Buhl and entered the University of Idaho, where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in education. He moved to Huntington, Oregon, where he taught sixth through eighth grade and also served as the school principal. He taught eight years in Huntington. It was there he met and married Audrey Magill and they were the parents of one son, Rob. Later, Frank and Audrey divorced. Frank also taught school in Arizona. After his teaching career ended, Frank worked as a truck driver for the state of Oregon. He moved to Durkee and lived there for 30 years, until deteriorating health caused him to move to Baker City. Frank left a strong imprint everywhere he lived. He unselfishly volunteered for many causes and activities. He served as a member of the Peace Corps in Honduras and was a volunteer reader to school children in Baker City. For many years, he was a highly regarded volunteer at the Bureau of Land Management’s Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. He also served for a brief time as the mayor of Huntington. Frank loved the land and being outdoors. He was born with a natural curiosity and loved to learn. He enjoyed square dancing. He was a loyal friend, dependable, accomplished yet as unpretentious a man who ever walked the earth, and his dry Nipper sense of humor will be sorely missed. He is survived by his son Rob and his wife Melissa of Baker City; grandchildren Ashley, Vivian, Keegan and Josalyn; brothers Jim Nipper of Kennewick, Washington and Richard Nipper of Richland, Washington; many nieces and nephews. For those who would like to make a memorial donation in memory of Frank may do so to the Durkee Community Center through Tami's Pine Valley Funeral Home PO Box 543 Halfway, Oregon 97834. On line condolences may be left on line at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com therconline.com 10 July 2014