Obituaries.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Marguerite Grupp

The funeral Mass will be held April 29 for Marguerite Diana Grupp of Eugene and Junction City, who died April 25 of age-related causes. She was 91.

Grupp was born July 16, 1910, in St. Louis to Richard and Bertha Ehlert Brenk. She married Carl Grupp in 1946. He died in 1969.

She graduated from college in Kansas City, Mo. Grupp worked as a teacher in Portland and Veneta.

She enjoyed sewing and helping the Carmelite Sisters and her church. Grupp was a member of St. Mark Catholic Church in Eugene, the Carmelite Auxiliary and the Retired Teachers Association. She moved to this area in 1945.

Survivors include a brother, Richard Brenk Jr., of Wichita, Kan.

Monday's service will be at 1 p.m. at St. Mark Catholic Church in Eugene. Murphy-Musgrove Funeral Home in Junction City is in charge of arrangements.

Memorial contributions may be made to Carmel of Marie Regina.

James Bails

JUNCTION CITY - A celebration of life will be held April 29 for James A. Bails of Junction City, who died April 25 of age-related causes. He was 85.

Bails was born March 29, 1917, in Yankton, S.D., to Ellsworth and Augusta Eskew Bails. He married Paulina Thompson in Lawrence, Kan., on July 11, 1946. She died May 31, 1984.

He was raised in Yankton and moved to Junction City in 1950.

He worked as a miner during World War II.

He was a clown in the Barnum and Bailey Circus and walked the tightrope.

In his free time, he taught a mule named Abagail to roller skate.

He raised game cocks, played pool and enjoyed watching professional boxing. He also liked to cook, garden, travel, and spend time with his grandchildren.

Survivors include two sons, Jack of Portland and Jeffrey of Cheshire; five daughters, Sandra Thomas and Crystal O'Connor, both of Junction City, Cindy Fowler of Albany, Belinda Penn of Eugene, and Patsy Queen of Madras; 32 grandchildren; and 59 great-grandchildren. A son died previously.

Monday's service will be at 2:30 p.m. at 1225 Kalmia St., in Junction City. Murphy-Musgrove Funeral Home in Junction City is in charge of arrangements.

Billie DeVries

Billie Schulz DeVries of Eugene died April 26 of complications from a stroke. She was 90.

DeVries was born Sept. 29, 1911, in Wyandotte, Mich., to Arthur and Fanny Rule Schulz. She married Flemming DeVries in Angola, Ind., on April 17, 1936. He died May 30, 1990.

She graduated from Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte and attended Ward-Belmont School, a two-year women's college. She later attended Michigan State University.

She moved to Eugene in 1983 from Sebring, Fla.

She managed a book store and worked in retail. She also taught quilting through an adult education program in Holland, Mich.

Her interests included reading, cooking, baking, and working with textiles, especially quilting and needlepoint.

Survivors include a daughter, Carrol Barton of Eugene; and a grandson.

No service will be held. Musgrove Family Mortuary in Eugene is in charge of arrangements.

Lawrence Billman

Lawrence R. Billman of Tooele, Utah, formerly of Cottage Grove, died April 26 of a heart attack. He was 60.

Billman was born July 3, 1941, in Lorenzo, Idaho, to Margaret Fiore Billman.

He lived in Cottage Grove from 1967 to the mid-1980s, when he moved to Oakridge.

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1957 to 1962.

Survivors include his wife, Juanita; three daughters, Laurie, Leslie and Lisa, all of Idaho Falls, Idaho; two sons, Johnny of Idaho Falls and Matthew of Tooele; four brothers, Bill of Idaho Falls, Richard of Coos Bay, David of Springfield, and Edward of Elkton; four sisters, Alice of Boise, Betty of Creswell, Kathy of Coos Bay and Margaret of Springfield; and four grandchildren.

The funeral will be Wednesday in Tooele, Utah. Tate Mortuary of Tooele is in charge of arrangements.

Biji Burrows

MARCOLA - The funeral will be held April 30 for Biji Evondine Burrows of Marcola, who died April 26 of age-related causes. She was 86.

Burrows was born July 1, 1915, in Kansas City, Mo., to Ole and Marie Brown Rorvick.

She married S.L. McClary in 1932. They later divorced. He died in 1994. She married Harry Barnum in 1941. He died July 9, 1962. She married Chester Burrows in 1965. He died in March 1985.

She attended high school in Miami, Ariz., and the Marinella Beauty College in Los Angeles.

She worked as a "Harvey girl" at a Fred Harvey's restaurant at Los Angeles' Union Station. She later worked as a dental assistant and taught cosmetology.

She belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was involved with The Little Theatre in Baldwin Park, Calif. Her interests included her cats, arts and crafts, fishing, reading and spending time with her grandchildren.

Survivors include a son, Jack McClary of Ridgecrest, Calif.; a daughter, Veldren Dixon of Monroe; a sister, Veldren Bergstrom of Florida; 15 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; and nine great-great-grandchildren. A great-grandson, Brandon Dixon, died in 1994, and a daughter, Moanyeen Sims, died in 1997.

Visitation will be 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at Murphy-Musgrove Funeral Home in Junction City. Tuesday's service will be at 2 p.m. at the funeral home. A second service will be at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, Calif. Burial will follow.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Foundation.

News obituaries are a free service. The News Department will accept information on its standard obituary forms submitted through funeral homes or by the deceased's immediate family. Obituary information is available at (phone) 485-1234, Ext. 5534, or (fax) 683-7631. If you want to purchase advertising space for a more detailed obituary, call 342-1212. Obituaries published in the past 30 days are available at www. registerguard.com.