Life Tributes for the week of 5/30/18
Daniel Ray Elledge
Daniel Ray Elledge tragically passed from this life May 9, 2018, at his residence in Seneca, South Carolina.
Born Aug. 27, 1974, in Sacramento, Daniel was raised and educated in Plumas County graduating from Greenville High School as a member of the Class of 1992 where he lettered in both football and wrestling. Upon his graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was trained as a combat medic as well as an unmanned aerial vehicle operator. He valiantly served in Kosovo, Afghanistan.
Upon his discharge Daniel had taken time off to tour the country and while enjoying his travels he found solace spending time with his dogs. He continued his love of his country and service to others as a proud member of the American Legion.
In his untimely passing, he leaves his daughters, Julia and Shea Elledge, both of Fayetteville, North Carolina; father, Dennis Elledge, of Sacramento; brother, Benjamin Elledge, of Quincy; sisters, Joy Strecker, of Quincy, Rachel Elledge, of Bend, Oregon and Rebecca Guerra, of Portola.
Daniel joins his mother, Debra, who passed in 2014, and brother, Michael Guerra, who passed in 2012, in their eternal home.
Graveside services to include military honors will take place at noon, June 2, in the Quincy East Lawn Cemetery. An opportunity to express condolences to the family along with signing the memorial guest register is available online at fehrmanmortuary.com.
Lester (Les) Dale Madden
Les was born Jan. 16, 1927, in small-town Brighton, Iowa, the youngest of two boys, to Henry and Elsie (Walton) Madden.
His brother, William (Bill), preceded him in death.
He spent his childhood in Brighton, where his father performed bridge maintenance for the railroad. It was in high school that Les picked up his first table tennis paddle. He tells of one table, no skills, and all backhand.
He enlisted in the Army toward the end of the war and spent his time there typing discharge papers for the returning troops. Upon discharge from the Army in 1946, Les headed out west on the train, first to Los Angeles, then up the coast to Berkeley, to work for Pacific Fruit Exchange, in the keypunch department, where he oversaw the installation and troubleshooting of their computer room.
It was at PFE that Les met his future wife, Patricia (Pat). They married and soon moved to San Francisco. Les and Pat proudly owned several early VW Beetles and Les enjoyed autocross racing those early Beetles (sometimes swapping out the original engine for a Porsche engine — shhh). They were active in their local VW Air-Cooled Car Club, making lots of friends and caravanning on many adventures. Les and Pat were surprised by the stork after 13 years of marriage, with the birth of their daughter, Susan.
At that time Les changed his main hobby to table tennis, helping to found and run the San Francisco Table Tennis Club.
Retiring from the railroad after 31 years, Les moved the family to Portola, where he and Pat purchased the Sierra Motel. The family operated the motel for over 20 years. Les also owned the Quintronics Radio Shack in Quincy for a time.
He never discovered a ping-pong table in the area but heard that the Alf Sorenson Community Center in Sparks, Nevada, offered table tennis play several nights a week. So off he went to Sparks numerous times a week, where he found some 12 men eager to play on three tables in a day room for kids.
Les and Pat moved to Reno in 1990, where Les maintained his love of chasing that little white ball and he was very active in the Reno-Sparks Table Tennis Club until his late 80s. Les made many very good friends in the club. Lester was vital in the success of the club, with his experience, quiet and unassuming manner and willingness to do anything: make barriers; invent very popular ball picker-uppers; and setup and breakdown every play night. He worked every event, tournament, demonstration and other social activity that the club held, in addition to his duties as treasurer, collecting fees, documenting memberships and keeping a close eye on the financial status, all with his unique style of play that gave anyone a run for his or her money on the table. He also participated in the Senior Games, playing and medaling in TT and helping run the tournaments.
Les faithfully followed his beloved Warriors basketball team, through thick and thin.
Lester was always known to be a generous and nice man. He was a joyful tinkerer, an amateur inventor and relished figuring out new solutions to a problem.
After 60 years of marriage, Pat passed away in 2013. Les suffered declining health due to metastasized prostate cancer for several years, eventually moving in with Suzie and Wes, where he passed peacefully in his sleep on March 23, at the age of 91.
At Les’s request, no services were held, and he was cremated. His ashes will be scattered with Pat’s.
Surviving are daughter Susan (Wes), and grandsons Anthony Lewis and Ryan Lewis. The family would like to thank his nurse Lina and all the caregivers at Infinity Hospice Care for helping to keep Les comfortable his last few weeks.
Robert Leroy Schake Jr.
Robert Leroy Schake Jr., “Bob,” a longtime resident of Plumas County, passed away May 2, 2018.
Bob was born Jan. 11, 1942, in Rogers, Minnesota. The family later moved to Chester, where he graduated high school and moved to Quincy. Bob had a love for softball, bowling, cutting wood and karaoke. He was also a Clamper for many years.
He is survived by his brothers, Danny, Charles, Kenneth and Tommy and his nieces and nephews, Carrie, Tangy, Michael, Kenny, Joey, Joshua, Daniel, Holly and many great-nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Arlene Seeber, father, Robert Schake Sr. and brother, Michael Schake.
Bob will be greatly missed. Rest in peace.