Loren Fassett Newkirk

Loren Fassett Newkirk Sept. 24, 1930 – July 29, 2025

Loren Fassett Newkirk, 94, touched more lives than he ever imagined. As a son, a brother, a husband, a father and a friend, he left a lasting impression on the lives of many living in the Willamette Valley near Turner, Ore.

A child of the Great Depression, Loren was born, Sept. 24, 1930, in Norco, Calif., to Loren M. and Marjorie Fassett Newkirk. His father was a disabled WWI veteran who moved the family to Ojai, Calif., in 1934, and then to Salem, Ore., in August 1944.

Loren started working with his father in 1938, and got his first job by himself in 1940, earning 5 cents an hour. He had a variety of jobs growing up, including picking beans, milking cows and hauling hay, before working at the former Truitt Bros. cannery in Salem for 14 years.

He left the cannery to work for Judson’s Inc., a family-owned plumbing, electrical and HVAC company, where he spent 33 years, retiring in 1992 but working part-time for a few years.

Loren moved with his family to a small farm near Turner in 1945 and would live on the same road, now Ridgeway Drive SE, for the rest of his life. He met Marjorie Bouchie, who lived up the road, in 1948 when she took a 4-H cooking class from Loren’s mother. They had their first date in 1949 and married on May 24, 1952, in Salem.

Loren and Marjorie purchased a small farm across the road from their parents’ homes in 1957 and lived there for 68 years, raising four children. The Newkirks were avid vegetable gardeners, while also growing cherries and prunes and raising sheep along with a variety of livestock for many years. Loren’s vibrant bed of dahlias was an annual feature in the garden.

Loren also flew homing pigeons, first with his father and then by himself until 1986. He worked with Border Collies from then until 1997.

In 1947, Loren joined the Army National Guard and later transferred to the regular Army, which took him to Georgia and Virginia. He was assigned to the Army Security Agency. Marjorie’s pregnancy helped him avoid being shipped to Korea, and he left the service in 1956.

Loren was active in his community, serving on various school boards and budget committees during the kids’ school years at Cloverdale Elementary and Cascade Junior and Senior High Schools. He was able to attend “all the things (the kids) were in from grade school programs to everything at high school.”

He was a 70-year member of both the Pearl Masonic Lodge, serving as Worshipful Master, and the Order of the Eastern Star’s Victoria Chapter (with Marjorie) in Turner. Over the years, he served as Worthy Patron more than once for Victoria Chapter and as Grand Sentinel and Worthy Grand Patron for Oregon OES.

Loren is survived by his wife Marjorie Newkirk, Salem; children Sharon Lohse, Keizer; Loren G. Newkirk (Christine), Colorado Springs, Colo.; Betsy Thompson (Steve), Lawrence, Kan.; and Sandra Lovfald (Steve), Eureka, Calif.; and sister Carol Newkirk, Banning, Calif., as well as six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Patricia Schwitzenberg.

A celebration of Loren’s life will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, at the Scottish Rite Center, 4090 Commercial St. SE, in Salem.