Lela Jeanette Currier

09/14/1937 – 12/16/2022

Lela Jeanette Malone was born on September 12, 1937, to Glenwood Aarmon Malone and Lela Wanita Dunsworth Malone in Springield, Colorado.

At an early age, she and her parents and younger brother moved to Roseburg, Oregon. Her high school years were spent at Roseburg High, where at the age of 14, she met the love of her life, Ron Currier. Jan fell in love with Ron, and he with her, and it wasn’t long before they were engaged. Ron enlisted in the army and was initially stationed in Kentucky. On June 27, 1954, Ron hitchhiked home from Nashville to Roseburg with $7.00 in his pocket, so he could marry Jan!

Jan went on to finish her high school years in Tennessee. They moved to Corvallis, Oregon so Ron could attend college at Oregon State University. It was at this time that they had their first child, Karen. Soon after came their son Mike, and then another daughter, Tonya. Eventually, Jan and her family moved to Milwaukie, Oregon. Jan set up a beautiful home there with the help of her husband. She was very meticulous, so her home was always perfectly tidy, clean, and cozy!

She loved collecting antiques, especially furniture and dishes. She decorated her home with a Victorian flare! Jan also loved gardening and raised a variety of beautiful flowers in her yard and had a special love for roses! Jan used her special talents for a career as a make-up artist and doubled as a cosmetic sales rep. Jan was also quite a gifted soloist, with her beautiful, operatic, soprano vocals! At one point, she even performed as the lead in an opera during her younger years!

She and Ron took their family to church every Sunday, and those who sat near to her could enjoy her beautiful voice as she sang hymns to Jesus. Jan loved Christ Jesus and she and Ron made him the center of their lives! Sundays were great family days, always starting with church, then coming home to a delicious roast, an afternoon nap, followed by an evening of traditional Sunday night TV shows - all complete with Jan’s homemade caramel corn and popcorn! She made Sundays very special for her family.

Jan also had a love for animals. There were always dogs and cats in her home and bird feeders outside! She was a delightful person who sang a lot, danced a lot, laughed a lot, and loved fiercely! She loved Ron so immensely and would often be heard commenting on how wonderful, handsome, and hardworking he was for the family. She thought Ron hung the moon, and he felt the same about her. Anyone who has known Jan and Ron for any length of time would comment, “What a great example of a loving, committed marriage!” It’s quite incredible that when Jan and Ron married each other at the age of 16 and 19, that they would always remain so deeply in love after 68 years of marriage!

In summarizing Jan’s wonderful life, she was a talented woman full of life and vigor! She was absolutely beautiful, both inside and out! She was an incredibly self-sacrificing, loving mother and grandmother. She was a devoted, loving wife and loved our Lord Jesus Christ with all her heart!

On December 6, 2022 at 11:52 AM, she went home to be with our Lord in Heaven, and with all her loved ones who went before her. She has loved, she was loved, she is loved. What kind of a life should be more celebrated than that? Mama, you are missed, until we meet again…