Long, Barbara Esther

Barbara Esther Long died peacefully in the early hours of Sept. 
16, 2010, at Sky Lakes Medical Center.

Barbara "Bobbie" Soule' was born on April 1, 1919, in Klamath 
Falls, Ore., to Andrew Albert Soule', M.D., and Eva Elizabeth 
(Melhase) Soule'.

She had an older sister, Lois Ann, and younger brother, Andrew 
Richard, both who preceded her in death. Her baby brother Floyd 
died in infancy.

Barbara grew up at the family home at 1945 Main St., which is 
now the site of Ward's Klamath Funeral Home. She attended 
Klamath Falls schools, including Sacred Heart Academy, and 
graduated from Klamath Union High School mid-year 1935-36. 
As a teen, she assisted her father as a surgical technician at the 
Soule' Sanitarium, his private hospital built next to the family 
home. The building later served as the Klamath County Health 
Department and Juvenile facility and became apartments in the 
1960s.

Barbara's childhood included pleasurable times in Fort Klamath 
at her Melhase grandparents' ranch, dance hall, store and ice 
cream parlor. The couple relocated to Klamath Falls in the 1920s 
and opened The Swan luncheon fountain in the basement of a 
family building. Known as the Melhase Block, the building on 
Main Street was demolished when the Klamath County 
Government Center was built at the site. An "ice cream" table-
and-chair set saved from The Swan were treasured mementos 
that Barbara used daily in her own home.

After high school, Barbara enrolled at Oregon State Agricultural 
College (now Oregon State University), majoring in home 
economics with an emphasis on foods and institutional 
nutrition. She joined Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and in 1939, 
served as chapter president. At the time, her sister Lois was 
A.G.D. president at the University of Oregon. Because of this 
unique situation, the sorority paid for the sisters to travel to 
New York City to be feted at the international convention. 
Following the convention, the sisters volunteered for the 
summer at the sorority's camp in Michigan for disadvantaged, 
malnourished youth.

Back in Corvallis, Barbara was engaged to Murel Long, an "aggie" 
from the Klamath Basin and member of the Theta Chi fraternity. 
The two were married on Jan. 14, 1940, in Klamath Falls at the 
First Presbyterian Church. Their loving partnership continued 
through 67 years of marriage.

The newlyweds' first home was a one-room "honeymoon" cabin 
on sleds at the O'Connor Ranch on Lower Klamath Lake. They 
next moved to the Meiss Ranch near Macdoel, Calif., where they 
joined Murel's father, Everett "Fat" Long, in a large-scale private 
reclamation project. There, her father-in-law taught Barbara to 
drive, rambling up and down the gravel road in a Model A. 
Barbara soon undertook the lifelong responsibility of marketing 
and preparing the meals for family and farm hands wherever she 
was. Being at the Meiss Ranch included making the regular 80
-mile round-trip to Klamath Falls.

When the Meiss Ranch project ended in the mid-1940s, Barbara 
and Murel purchased a home on LeRoy Street in Klamath Falls. 
They also acquired 1,000 acres of undeveloped land next to the 
O'Connor Ranch on Lower Klamath and established the Long 
Ranch.

In 1946, the couple welcomed son Lynn Everett. He was joined 
by daughter Ann Marie in 1950. In 1953, the family moved to 
their new house at the Long Ranch. Barbara canned applesauce, 
pickles, fruits, jams and jellies - a specialty being her wild plum 
jam. She cooked excellent meals and kept something on hand 
for the friends and neighbors who would invariably drop by for a 
chat and snack. She was an accomplished seamstress and sewed 
ballet and tap dance costumes and wool cheerleading outfits. 
When her daughter's bridesmaids' gowns on order did not 
materialize, she sewed three of them the week before the 
wedding.

She served as room mother and PTA president, Cub Scout 
leader, Campfire leader and later Job's Daughters advisor. She 
carpooled for field trips, Babe Ruth baseball, band competitions, 
speech festivals and swim lessons and attended innumerable 
children's programs and sporting events.

Barbara was a helpmate to her husband in his many civic roles, 
creating decorations and accessories for pageants and 
presentations. She hosted overnight guests and made 
conversation with governors, celebrities, and spouses. For fun, 
the couple went steelhead fishing on the Smith River, trout 
fishing at Diamond Lake, and relaxed at Lake of the Woods at 
the cabins of family and friends, especially Jack and 
Ruthmary Crawford.

Over the years, they owned several small airplanes piloted by 
Murel. The first of many memorable airplane trips occurred in 
the 1940s, when they flew their new yellow Piper Cub from Lock 
Haven, Pa., to New York City and around the Empire State 
Building before flying cross-country back to Klamath Falls.

Barbara valued her friends, in particular Walter and Mary Alice 
Stastny and Jack and Vergie Liskey. Trips to Reno were frequent. 
The Longs traveled to Hawaii several times, cruised through the 
Panama Canal, went to Alaska, and went to New England to view 
the fall foliage.

In addition to their activities, Barbara cherished her women's 
bridge groups and was also a devoted Portland Trailblazers fan.

After her husband passed away in early 2008, Barbara moved to 
Crystal Terrace Retirement Community, engaging a personal 
staff of caregivers. As in all the places she had lived, Barbara 
soon became known for her quiet beauty, her intelligence and 
her sense of humor.

Her passing leaves a family enriched by her loving care; son, 
Lynn Long and wife, Linda (Schortgen) Long; daughter, Ann 
(Long) McGill and husband, Ron McGill, all of Klamath Falls; 
grandchildren, Stephanie (Long) Niosi of Portland, Nicole (Long) 
Smith of Lynnwood, Wash., Sarah (McGill) Moore of Folsom, 
Calif., and Spencer McGill of Portland and their spouses, John 
Niosi, Ken Smith, and Nathan Moore and significant friend 
Rachel Green; great-grandchildren, Olivia and Vincent Niosi of 
Portland and Grayson Moore of Folsom; her husband's cousin 
and wife, Jim and Diane Linebaugh of Dayton, Nev.; nephews, 
Andrew T. Soule' of Sacramento, Calif., and Peter Soule' of Los 
Gatos, Calif. and their spouses and children; special caregivers, 
Susan Pagura, Penny Johnson, Debbie Fulton, Nancy Perkins, 
Debbra Lockwood, Annie Tew, and Donnalea Norris; also, Linda 
Ward, Rhiannon Murphy, and Candy Harrington; and the last 
special friend Barbara made, Dozer, the big black Labrador 
retriever.

Services will be 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at Ward's Klamath 
Funeral Home, 1945 Main St., with a reception to follow at Favell 
Museum, 125 W. Main St. Interment after the reception will be at 
Klamath Memorial Park under direction of Ward's.

Contributions in memory of Barbara may be made to the 
Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank, 3231 Maywood Drive, 
Klamath Falls, OR 97603, or online at klamathfoodbank.org. 

Published in Herald And News on September 21, 2010