Earl Ellis Tiller, 91, passed away April 23.

Earl was born Aug. 30, 1925, in Caldwell, Idaho, to Pluribus and Tacie (Lundy) Tiller.

In November 1925, leaving behind a farming lifestyle, Pluribus and Tacie came to settle in Burns with their three children.  As Earl got older, he helped out in the grocery store, owned and operated by his parents.

Earl enjoyed school, played the trombone in the high school band (and later for the Reed Band), played football, basketball, and baseball. He was working for Dr. B. F. Smith (father of Congressman Robert F. Smith) on his Burns ranch just prior to being drafted. In November 1943, Earl was drafted into the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific for 18 months as a radio operator.  In April 1946, his commission ended in the Norfolk, Va., ship yards with the return of the USS Pondera, and Earl returned to Harney County.

Earl attended school in Burns from first grade through high school graduation with his sweetheart, who waited for him to finish his naval service – Verda Culp. They married Nov. 7, 1946. Their only son, Teddy Joe Tiller, joined the family Nov. 12, 1957. They lived all their married life in the home that Grandfather Culp built on Highway 205.

On his return to Harney County after World War II ended, Earl, his dad, Pluribus, and his brother, Joe, owned and operated 640 acres on Rye Grass Lane, clearing sagebrush, farming, raising chickens and purebred hogs for three years. Earl ran the local ranch of Congressman Robert F. Smith for 20 years. He served Harney County on the school board, the board of county commissioners, and scouted for local high school coaches for many years. He loved the outdoors, hunting, and supporting the sports of his grandchildren. Most of all, he loved his family and lived his life “in the arms of Jesus.”

Earl is survived by his wife of 70 years, Verda; son and daughter-in-law, Ted and Shellie Tiller; and grandchildren, Trace, Cade, and Lacie Tiller.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Pluribus and Tacie Tiller; brothers, Joe, Royce, and Donald Tiller; sisters and brother-in-law, Virginia and Roy Swindlehurst, and Ruth.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 6, in the Harney County Church of the Nazarene in Hines. Contributions in Earl’s memory may be made to Hillcrest Church of Christ and mailed to LaFollette’s Chapel, P.O. Box 488; Burns, Oregon 97720.