Though living in Reno in 1935, Mary Alice had made it back to Crescent City in the last five years. She is listed here as being divorced, but it is possible the divorce was never finalized, as Mary Alice later got back together with her husband Sonny Ray.
March 26, 2005, surrounded by his family, Donald William Taggart died at the Tillamook County General Hospital after a short illness. Don was 81 years young.
Born in Neskowin Nov. 5, 1923, to Oscar and Ruth (Ward) Taggart, Don spent his life in Tillamook County. He attended Slab Creek Elementary School in Neskowin, followed by South Prairie and Liberty schools in Tillamook. May 9, 1942, he married Louise Gillett, and spent the next 63 years living an incredible life with his sweetheart and best friend.
July 1943 to November 1945, Don served in the United States Army as an infantryman stationed at Ft. Lewis, Wash., Camp Bowie in Texas and Camp Adair in Oregon. He fought in World War II, with a tour in France and Germany, and earned several military honors, including the Sharpshooter Badge, Good Conduct and Victory medals and a Fame Theater Ribbon. Don's name is on the World War II Memorial recently built in Washington, D.C., and one of his V-Letters to Louise is included in the memorial display.
A man who loved everything related to trucks, Don drove most of his life, beginning at 15. In the 1940s and '50s he began his trucking career in earnest, hauling logs from the Tillamook forests. In the late 1950s and most of the '60s, Don owned and operated two separate gas stations, the B&D Shell located on East Third Street and later, Taggart's Texaco on Main and First Street.
Soon the trucking life called him back for good and, in 1969, he began driving his own hay truck. He made lifelong friends while working and driving for Harry Randall, Duane Rawe and Ed Moss, and then in the early 1980s, he began driving for Hopkes Logging. In 1990, Don officially retired, but continued as a relief driver for Hopkes Logging and Dale Anderson. He was recently approved for renewal of his driver's DOT Medical Card, the oldest driver his doctor had ever certified at 81.
Don was a life member of the Tillamook County Pioneer Association, the Odd Fellows, American Legion and the VFW and was a Past Noble Grand for the IOOF Lodge No. 94.
While he was retired, Don enjoyed driving the hay squeeze for his sons and helping unload hay as well as acting as a fix-it all man for the family in repairing their lawn mowers and doing odd jobs around their homes. He and Louise looked forward to their trips to Prineville for visits with their daughter and he never missed the annual logging show in Eugene. In 2004, Don made his first trip to Disneyland and several other Southern California attractions. He enjoyed riding amusement park rides and meeting Mickey Mouse so much that he couldn't wait to return. The time he enjoyed the most was spent working on or talking trucks, and he would never turn down a chance to drive a new Kenworth.
Don was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Carmen Taggart and Corinne Reynolds; as well as one son, Donald Albert Taggart. He is survived by his wife, Louise; sons, Albert E. and wife Jan of Tillamook, and Ronald W. and wife Debbie of Tillamook; daughter, Vivian Louise Stanton and husband Don of Prineville; six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Graveside services will be Saturday, April 2, at 1 p.m., in the Odd Fellows Cemetery. All are then welcome to gather at the Tillamook 4-H Hall.
Headlight-Herald, March 30, 2005
DNA Confirmation
Paternal relationship is confirmed with an AncestryDNA test match between Jennie Ray and Hopper, third cousins. Predicted relationship reported by AncestryDNA: 4th Cousins based on sharing 42 centimorgans shared across 3 DNA segments; Confidence: High.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Mary Alice by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA.
Mitochondrial DNA test-takers in the direct maternal line: