Loretta C. Weber

A GREAT MOM

The beginning of our mom's story, Loretta Classen Weber, to friends and family, would have to start in August of 1929. Loretta was born to Kate and Louis Classen, of Charleston, Arkansas. She was the youngest of their eleven children.

Her young days were spent on her parents' farm. Louis mainly grew cotton, but there were pigs, chickens, and cows to tend, also. Loretta and her brothers and sisters all had jobs to do. Mainly the boys picked the cotton when it was ready. There was a big barn (with scary barn cats), and their fields were edged by woodlands. Their house had brick pillars that were built by Louis, an able brick mason. Loretta said there were several buildings in Charleston that had brick work by Louis.

At some point, Loretta's parents were told that she had a weakened heart, and she grew up very aware and careful to do the right things for her heart. But she also had a great time playing with siblings and cousins. Her sister, Angie, was almost like a second mother to her, Loretta would say. There is a photo of her brothers playing croquet in a 'swept' dirt yard (no grass or weeds), with younger Loretta and others watching from behind a trough and around the house.

Loretta's older brother, Herman Classen, was the first family member to relocate to Oregon from Arkansas. Loretta remembered it very well. “Herman started going to Oregon with Gus Minden, who had an uncle living there,” said Loretta. They both wanted to find some place they liked better than Arkansas. They traveled, they stopped in Texas to look around, and also some other states, too. Then they ended up in Oregon. “My Uncle Ted often said that you would have to stay at least a year, to make sure that you liked it, because it rains so much here.”

Other relatives, such as Loretta's maternal Aunt Aggie, together with her husband, Nick Nelke, moved west, to live in Salem, Oregon. Soon, nearly everyone in Loretta's family traveled to Oregon, including brothers Nick, Justin, Ambrose, and Al. They lived in privately owned boarding houses for a short time, before they eventually bought their own homes.

Loretta first visited Oregon at age 18, to attend her sister Fran's wedding. It was on July 5, 1947, at St. Rose Catholic Church in northeast Portland. She stayed in Oregon about three months before returning home to Arkansas. During her brief time in Oregon, Loretta had worked as a nurse's aide at St. Vincent's hospital. She returned to Arkansas in September, and helped her sister, Edna, who had recently had her first baby. She later got a first 'real' job, working for a garment company in Charleston.

On March 24, 1948, Loretta, her parents Kate and Louis, and her cousin Lawrence Adams, traveled to Oregon in a five-passenger car. They were towing a small trailer containing all of their belongings. They stopped for lunch each day, and spent nights in motels, before arriving in Oregon on March 29. During the stops, Loretta remembers, “My dad was always in a hurry, so he encouraged us to eat our meals quickly, so we could get going again.” Lawrence Adams later returned to Arkansas, after helping his family members move to Oregon.

Loretta said, “When we first arrived in Oregon, we lived with Herman. Later, my parents rented an apartment in southwest Portland. I wouldn't get back to Arkansas until after I was married, when we went for some family reunions.”

Soon after moving to Oregon, Loretta got a job at The Grotto. That is the shortened name that Portlanders call The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, a shrine dedicated to Mary. It includes two levels of beautiful grounds, a church, and outdoor worship areas. Loretta worked in the gift shop, and was the elevator operator, taking passengers between the two levels of park-like grounds.

“I really liked the job at the Grotto. I worked there with my good friend, Sister Rita Rose, who was a Holy Names nun,” Loretta said. “I met Jimmy (James Paul Weber) in 1950 when we both attended a novena mass there one day.” Not long after they met, Jim joined the U.S. Army. He served in Europe. Loretta and Jim were married on June 27, 1953, at St. Clare Catholic Church in southwest Portland.

Loretta and Jim established their first home in southwest Portland. They had the first of their six children in 1954, when their son, Timothy, was born. He was followed the next year by their second son, Gregory. Sadly, family tragedy fell on that same day, when Loretta's dad, Louis, died suddenly, at age 72.

“Of course, that was a big shock,” said Loretta. “My dad was supposed to take me to the hospital (when I went into labor), but Herman's wife, Mary, heard from my mom that Dad wasn't feeling well. Mary drove me and Dad both to Emmanuel Hospital. The next day, Dad ate some breakfast, but shortly after that he died of a heart attack. After I delivered Gregory, I asked my doctor about Dad, and he just said I should pray for him. My doctor instructed everyone that I was not to be told yet. Mom and my brother, Al, came to tell me the following day.”

Jim and Loretta had four more children, Richard, Michael, Susan and Rose Marie. Their second home was on NE 52nd Avenue, in a neighborhood full of young families and kids to play with. At home, Loretta raised the busy crew, and took care of all the home tasks. In his off time from his home construction carpentry job, Jim built a slide, merry-go-round, and a swing set, to entertain the kids. Loretta was family and church centered, helping with charity suppers and school fundraisers.

About 1970, they moved to a house across the street from Fernhill Park, also in NE Portland, and later, into a tri-level home on a hill in Milwaukie, Oregon. That house, on SE Concord Court, was their largest home and had a big yard. Jim was a terrific gardener and landscaper, and kept it beautiful. Loretta kept up with the tomatoes, berries, and other crops. It was at this time of her life, Loretta began going to estate sales and started her stick pin collection, which grew to over 200 pins and was a topic of conversations by all who visited. She worked at school cafeterias, and as a merchandiser for American Greetings, placing card displays in stores. The kids were growing independent lives and families of their own. Their first grandchildren were being born.

As Jim reached retirement, they began a new phase, working to build a home in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Their kids, and their cousin, John Weber, all contributed to the building and finish of the house. “I loved that house,” said Loretta. “I never thought we would build such a big home. My idea was a much smaller place to visit the beach. Jimmy thought it better to build a bigger house, and he really worked hard on it.” There are many great memories of their years at Cannon Beach. They loved the church community and the local oyster feeds, especially. Then, in 1996, Jim got a heart infection, and he passed away. It uprooted Loretta, and she spent years finding the best place to settle after selling the beach house.

Loretta did some traveling, short excursions, and a pilgrimage in Europe. She traveled to Arkansas for family reunions, and loved keeping up with all the relatives' news.

She really, really loved the Portland Trailblazers NBA basketball team. She watched nearly every game since the inception of the team in 1970. She knew all the current players in 2023, and hoped for improvement and a repeat run for a championship. She had ideas for them, too. “I think it would be good if Phil Knight would buy the Blazers,” she said.

Loretta was interested in people. She read only biographies. And she enjoyed seeing political figures when she could. Robert Kennedy had been one of her favorites. “We went to see Robert Kennedy at Madison High School in the 1960’s. I think I might've touched him as he walked nearby,” Loretta said.

When Loretta was 81-years old, Susan gave her an iPad tablet. It opened new opportunities for video chats with relatives, brought comfort and entertainment. That was especially invaluable during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, and the months and years that followed.

The tragedies and heartbreak in Mom's life gave her lasting sadness. She fought cancer in the late 1980’s, but was cancer free for the rest of her years. But the losses of her people were hardest for her. First, her parents. Then Jim died, much too young, at age 68, which was in 1996. Then her son, Tim, lost his fight with cancer, in 2020. His passing was also too soon; he was 65. “I never expected to outlive my children,” she said. Loretta lost all her siblings and many friends before her own passing. She missed all these people very deeply, every day.

Still, she persevered, and continued to be interested in the lives of her children,

14 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and a host of relatives in several states. In old age, she stayed busy with jigsaw puzzles, online word games with friends, collected aluminum pull-tabs for charity, made prayer shawls for Catholic charities, and yarn-covered clothes hangers for family, friends and to give away at her own funeral.

Loretta lived independently at The Springs at Clackamas Woods, an active retirement community, in Milwaukie, Oregon, for over 11 years. Loretta Clara Classen Weber passed away from a stroke on May 29, 2023 in Portland. Her cremains will be buried in an urn that her son Richard made for her, at her request. Her memorial is at Willamette National Cemetery, with her beloved husband, James Paul Weber. She lives in our hearts forever.