Mary (Nelson) Erb

Mary (Nelson) Erb

December 2, 1926 - California
August 13, 2003 - Crooked River Ranch

Married April 27, 1957 - Abbottabad, Pakistan
to Richard W Erb

on gravestone with
Richard W Erb

Mary E. Erb of Crooked River Ranch died Aug. 13 in an automobile accident. She was 76. Her husband was also killed in the crash.

A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at the Word of Victory Church in Redmond.

Mrs. Erb was born Dec. 2, 1926, in California to Ernest and Mary (Depuy) Nelson.

She was a missionary and traveled in 1953 to Pakistan, where she met her husband, Richard Erb. They were married April 27, 1957, in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

After 18 years in Pakistan, Mrs. Erb settled in Grants Pass in 1973. She moved to Alaska in 1988 and worked as a teacher before moving to Crooked River Ranch in 1993.

Her survivors include:

Sons, Steve of Crooked River Ranch and David of Redmond

Daughter, Sharon of Claremont, California

Brothers, Ernie Nelson, Eugene Nelson and Dale Nelson, all of California

Sisters, Margaret Grendahl of Roseville, California and Lucille Blassingame of California

and three grandchildren.

Autumn Funerals is in charge of arrangements.

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Two dead after crash in Redmond

By Eric Flowers & Mike Cronin

Published: August 14. 2003 4:00AM PST

REDMOND - A Crooked River Ranch married couple died in a two-car crash Wednesday afternoon in Redmond.

Killed almost instantly was Richard Warren Erb, 75, the driver of a Plymouth Voyager minivan, police said.

Erb collided head-on with a Buick sedan moving in the wrong direction at about 3:40 p.m. on Highway 97, officers said.

Mary Erb, his wife, died at about 9 p.m. while undergoing surgery at Bend's St. Charles Medical Center to treat injuries she sustained in the accident, said Redmond Police Lt. Scott Koertje. Mary Erb's age was unknown, Koertje said.

Medical personnel initially transported Mary Erb to Central Oregon Community Hospital in Redmond, an official there said. She was later flown by helicopter to St. Charles, a hospital official said.

Police said a Buick sedan driven by Clayton Smith, 80, of Redmond, was moving northbound in the southbound lane of Highway 97.

"Speed does not appear to be a factor in the crash," a police news release said.

Smith sustained minor injuries and was treated and released at Central Oregon Community Hospital, police said.

The crash, which happened just north of the "Y" where the highway splits into a pair of one-way streets, shut down traffic on Highway 97 for almost an hour while paramedics attended to crash victims.

Police examined the accident scene, snapping photos and marking the road with chalk for investigators.

A witness who administered first aid to one victim said Erb died within a few seconds of the impact, before paramedics could reach the scene.

Dan Nicholson, who said he was a witness, said it appeared that neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing a seat belt.

As of 10:30 p.m., no charges had been filed in connection with the accident.

The accident remained under investigation, Koertje said.