Person Page - 3666

Leland Russell Sackett
Sheridan — Leland Russell Sackett, 91, of Sheridan, died Sunday.
     Born in Granger, he moved to Sheridan in the early 1900s. He was a 1915 graduate of Willamette University and an Army veteran of World War I. He worked for the Southern Pacific railroad before moving to Sheridan in 1929. He owned Sackett Insurance Agency, now Sackett and Wright, until retiring in 1970.
     He was a member of the United Methodist Church and Rotary Club and was involved in Phil Sheridan Days. He was a co-founder of Green Crest Memorial Park.
     Survivors include his wife, Fannie; sons, Stanley, Portland, and Russell, Seattle, and daughter, Betty Williams, Portland.
     Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in the United Methodist Church. Interment will be in Green Crest Memorial Park. Arrangements are under the direction of Adamson mortuary.
     Contributions may be made to the church.

—Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, 26 Mar 1985, p 14

Miss Sadie Elizabeth Pratt became the bride of Mr. Sheldon F. Sackett on Tuesday evening, June 3, in Portland. The ceremony was performed at 8 o'clock before an altar of roses, at the Vernon Presbyterian church, Reverend C. L. Dark, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church of McMinnville, assisted by Reverend H. E. Edgar, officiating. Baskets and lattices of pink roses and azure delphinium, transformed the church into a bride's garden, with tall white tapers burning at the altar.
     Immediately preceding the ceremony, Mrs. David Lawson (Marguerite Cook ) sang "Because." Mrs. Stuart Pratt of Seattle presided at the organ for the accompaniments and the wedding march, the bridal party taking their places to the strains of the impressive Mendelssohn processional.
     The bride was charming in white satin, ornamented with Spanish lace. Her filmy veil, worn in empress fashion and caught with sprays of orange blossom, fell along a full court train.
     Mrs. Willard Lawson (Helen Mclnturff), as matron-of-honor, wore orchid flat crepe with rows of narrow lace, while Miss Lorlei Blatchford, as maid-of-honor, wore a lovely gown of pale pink georgette with ostrich. Miss Norabel Pratt, a sister of the bride, Miss Lois Lapham, Miss Estella Martin, and Miss Carolyn Bushnell were bridesmaids. Miss Pratt and Miss Lapham wore lovely modes of poudre blue georgette while Miss Martin and Miss Bushnell completed the procession of pastel colors in their frocks of honey-dew crepe de chine. The bridesmaids carried arm bouquets of snapdragons and sweet peas, while the bride's bouquet was a shower of Ophelia roses and lilies of the valley.
     Mr. Vernor Sackett, brother of the groom, was best man with Mr. Clarence Gillette as groomsman. Ushers were Mr. Bruce E. White. Mr. David Lawson and Mr. John Lucker.
     Little Betty Sackett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leland Sackett, was a dainty flower girl, with a tiny arm basket of Cecil Brunner roses.
     The bride, daughter of Dr. and Mrs George B. Pratt, was given in marriage by her father. Immediately preceding the benediction Miss Kathleen La Raut sang "At Dawning."
     One hundred and fifty guests were invited to the formal receptlon which followed at the Pratt home at 1007 East Fifteenth Street, N. The guests were greeted at the door by Mrs. Melvin Johnson.
     Dr. and Mrs. George B. Pratt and the members of the bridal party received. In the dining room Mrs. Bruce E. White (Grace Brainerd) presided at the urn, while Miss Thelma Mills cut the ices. College friends of the bride assisted about the rooms. Miss Thelma Mills caught the bride's bouquet.
     Both Mr. and Mrs. Sackett are graduates of Willamette University, Mrs. Sackett with the class or 1923 and Mr. Sackett with the class of 1922. Both were unusually prominent in campus affairs. Mrs. Sackett was a member of the Delta Phi sorority and of the Adelante literary society, while Mr. Sackett was a Websterian and a Sigma Tau. Mrs. Sackett was senior scholar in French, and Mr. Sackett, upon his graduation was elected to membership in the honorary scholarship fraternity Alpha Kappa Nu. Mr. Sackett also edited the Willamette Collegian during his senior year. He is a member of the Bar-W forensic organisation.
     Mr. Sackett is the son ot Judge and Mrs. Sackett of Yamhill county. After a two weeks' honeymoon trip to Yellowstone National park, the trip being made by motor, Mr. Sackett will take his bride to McMinnville where the young couple will make their home. Mr. Sackett will edit the McMinnville paper, the Telephone-Register.
     The past year Mr. Sackett has been principal of the high school at Raymond, Washington, while Mrs. Sackett has been on the high school faculty at Klaber.

—Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, 5 Jun 1925, p 8

Sheldon Sackett Weds Secretary of Gov. Meier
A wedding which came as a startling surprise to a large circle of acquaintances and which is of interest throughout the state was that which united Miss Beatrice Walton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Walton, and Sheldon F. Sackett, son of Judge and Mrs. Fred B. Sackett of McMinnville, Thursday evening at 7 o'clock at the Walton home in Salem.
     Even the best friends of Mr. and Mrs. Sackett were given little warning of the wedding's approach, and because of the prominence of the couple its occurrence will no doubt be the topic of conversation wherever society congregates today.
Relatives Present
     Rev. Thomas Hardle, pastor of the McMinnville Methodist Episcopal church, read the simple wedding service in the presence of Mrs. James Walton, mother of the bride, Judge and Mrs. Fred B. Sackett of McMinnville, parents of the groom, Mr. and Mrs. William Walton, the former a brother of the groom, and Mrs. Thomas Hardie.
     Mrs. Sackett is a graduate of Mills college in California, and at one time was employed as an instructor of the Astoria public schools. She later was secretary in the state department of education. Three years ago she accepted the office of private secretary to the late Governor Patterson and served throughout his administration. She then went to Europe, but returned to Salem early last January, when she again was appointed private secretary by Governor Meier, which position she now fills.
Publisher of Times
     Mr. Sackett is managing editor and co-publisher of the Oregon Statesman, Salem, and publisher of the Coos Bay Times at Marshfield. Prior to locating in Salem he was engaged in the newspaper business at McMinnville for a number of years. He is a graduate of Willamette university, and took a post graduate course at Columbia university.
     Mr. and Mrs. Sackett left Thursday night for a beach resort where they will remain until Sunday. Both were at their business posts until noon Thursday.
     Mrs. Sackett Thursday presented her resignation to Governor Meier, subject to his pleasure. Friends of Mrs. Sackett indicated that the resignation had not been accepted.
     Mr. and Mrs. Sackett will make their home in the Royal Court apartments, Salem.

—The World, Coos Bay, Oregon, 1 Jan 1932, p 6

Local Interest In Wedding—
     The many friends in the valley of the bridegroom and interest in the bride because of her official position in the state capltol, made news of the marriage on New Years eve of Sheldon F. Sackett, co-publisher of the New Oregon Statesman, of Salem, and publisher of the Coos Bay Times, at Marshfield, and Miss Beatrice Walton, private secretary to Governor Julius Meier, of considerable local interest. The marriage was celebrated Thursday evening at the home of the bride's mother, Mrs. James Walton in Salem. Mrs. Sackett is a graduate of Mills college in California. She served as secretary to the late Governor Patterson and later of the present chief officer of the state. Mr. Sackett is a graduate of Willamette university. and after having taught a year, purchased the McMinnville Telephone-Register, going after the sale of that sheet to Salem to be associated with Charles A. Sprague In the management of the Salem daily.

—La Grande Observer, La Grande, Oregon, 2 Jan 1932, p 6

Last rites for Mrs. Sackett Set Tomorrow in Coos Bay, Ore.
     Private funeral services will be held in Coos Bay, Ore., tomorrow for Mrs. Beatrice Walton Sackett, wife of Sheldon F. Sackett, Oregon newspaper and radio owner who recently entered into an agreement to purchase The Seattle Star. Mrs. Sackett, 48, a member of the Oregon state board of higher education, died Saturday at McAuley hospital in Coos Bay after an extended illness.
     Death was caused by cancer.
     Born in Salem, Ore., of a pioneer Oregon family, Mrs. Sackett was educated in Salem schools and was a graduate of Mills college, Oakland. After teaching two years, Mrs. Sackett became secretary to the state superintendent of public instruction and later became executive secretary to three Oregon governors, I. C. Patterson, A. W. Norblad and Julius E. Meier.
     Invited to remain as secretary to Gov. Charles H. Martin, who succeeded Meier, Mrs. Sackett elected to return to private life. She was appointed to the state board of education in 1934 by Meier, a position she held continuously until her death.
     For many years she was the only woman member of the state board and had been vice president since 1940. She was an active member of the Episcopal church, the American Association of University Women and Phi Beta Kappa.
     She was married to Mr. Sackett Dec. 31, 1931, in Salem moving to Coos Bay in 1936.
     Besides her husband, Mrs. Sackett is survived by two children, Marcia Anne, 12, and John Walton, 9; her mother, Mrs. Mary E. Walton of Salem, and two brothers, William S. Walton, Salem banker, and Brig. Gen. Leo Walton, commanding general, U. S. army air corps at Orlando, Fla.
     Mrs. Sackett requested there be no flowers and the funeral private.
     Because of Mrs. Sackett's illness, transfer of the properties of The Seattle Star has not been made, but will take place within two weeks.
Snell Pays Tribute To Publisher's Wife
     Salem, Ore. —(UP)— "One of Oregon's most talented and accomplished women has been called to her final reward," Gov. Earl Snell of Oregon said today in commenting upon the death of Mrs. Beatrice Walton Sackett.
     "Hers was a brilliant career, marked by high intelligence, loyalty to trust and duty, love and appreciation of home and fireside, and high standards of service to community and state truely unsurpassed," the Oregon governor said.
     "The passing of Mrs. Sackett is a loss irreparable to Oregon," he added.

—The Seattle Star, Seattle, Washington, 19 May 1947, p 2

Beatrice Walton Sackett
     To the many virtues for which Mrs. Beatrice Walton Sackett was justly famed must be added one of heroism. With great courage she battled in recent years the encroachment of mailgnant disease, underwent numerous operations which served only to prolong life yet she held herself to her public and private duties with unconquerable fortitude until finally she had to yield to her physical infirmity.
     Here was a woman who could be described as the ideal modern woman: of fine intelligence, strong character, yet truly feminine, who renderd exceptional service in public position and maintained her home and cared for her family. Her work as private secretary to governors of the state and as member of the state board of higher education was regarded as outstanding. Her personal charm and graciousness of manner won for her a host of friends who share with relatives genuine grief over her passing.

—Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, 20 May 1947, p 4 [Editorial comment column]

Sackett Weds
San Francisco, Aug. 2 (UP)
Sheldon F. Sackett, publisher and broadcaster, was married here today to Mrs. Evelyn Zingleman Schwabe of Portland, Ore. Sackett published the Coos Bay Times and operates radio Station KOOS in Coos Bay, Oregon. In addition he has radio station KROW in Oakland and KVAN in Vancouver, Wash. He is an applicant for a television license for the bay district.

—The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California, 3 Aug 1948, p 6

Sheldon Sackett weds
San Francisco, Aug. 3.–(U.P.)
Sheldon F. Sackett, 46, prominent West Coast publisher and broadcaster, was married here yesterday to Mrs. Evelyn Zingleman Schwabe, 38, of Portland, Ore.

—Daily News, Los Angeles, California, 3 Aug 1948, p 6

Sackett Weds
San Francisco, Aug. 3. — (U.P.) — Sheldon F. Sackett, West coast publisher and broadcaster, was to leave on a Hawaiian honeymoon today with his bride, the former Mrs. Evelyn Zingleman Schwabe, of Portland, Ore. The couple was married here yesterday afternoon. They will make their home in Piedmont, Calif., on their return from the islands.

—The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Washington, 3 Aug 1948, p 12

Wedding News
Amidst the standard amount of clatter and ado that inevitably accompanies his big moments, whether they be marriages or mergers, Sheldon Sackett, radio station owner and publisher of an Oregon newspaper, was married again early this week. His first wife, Mills College Grad Beatrice Walton, had died several months previously.
     The new Mrs. Sackett was formerly Mrs. Evelyn Schwabe, the divorced wife of a Portland attorney. Sackett has three children of his own and the new Mrs. Sackett brings him three more, thus increasing the population under the Sackett roof to enough to make two tables of bridge, with the parents.

—The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, 6 Aug 1948, p 19

Invitations Received
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Contee Worthington of Piedmont, Cal., have sent out invitations for the marriage of their daughter, Elizabeth, to Mr. Shelton F. Sackett of Oakland, formerly of Coos Bay and of Salem.
     The wedding is to be an event of Monday, January 30 at four o'clock at the Piedmont Community church. A reception will follow at 172 Estates drive.

—Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, 19 Jan 1950, p 6

Sheldon Sackett Weds in Piedmont
     Sheldon Sackett, former newspaper publisher and now a Bay area radio station operator, was married in Piedmont yesterday to Elizabeth Worthington, Piedmont.
     It was the third marriage for Sackett, part owner of radio station KROW in Oakland. The bride is a former Broadway actress, and a well known portrait and landscape painter.
     Sackett, former publisher and part owner of the Oregon Statesman, lives at 171 Estates Drive, Piedmont.

—The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, 31 Jan 1950, p 10

Sackett Sued For Divorce
Oakland (AP) — Mrs. Elizabeth Sackett sued publisher Sheldon Sackett for divorce Tuesday and obtained a temporary order preventing him from liquidating any more of his holdings.
     Mrs. Sackett's suit said the publisher had sold radio stations KROW in Oakland and KVAN in Vancouver, Wash., for $1,900,000 the last 60 days. Superior Judge Thomas W. Caldecott granted a temporary restraining order and set May 14 for a hearing on whether to make it permanent.
     Mrs. Sackett charged extreme cruelty. She asked custody of an 8-year-old son and division of community property she valued at $3,600,000. She estimated her husband's debts at one million dollars.

—The Times, San Mateo, California, 6 May 1959, p 30

Sheldon Sackett Sued for Divorce
Oakland, Calif. (UPI) —Sheldon Sackett, 57, Oregon publisher and radio station owner, is being sued for divorce by his wife, Elizabeth, 40, in Alameda County Superior Court.
     Charging her husband with extreme cruelty, she asked for custody of an eight-year old son Schuyler, equitable division of $2,562,500 in community property, and $2,410 a month for temporary support.
     Mrs. Sackett's complaint said her husband has business interests worth $3,600,000 in addition to the community property, but that his debts total one million dollars.
     Along with filing the suit, Mrs. Sackett obtained a temporary order restraining her husband from selling his assets.
     The couple was married Jan. 30, 1950, and separated last April 4, the suit said. A hearing was set for May 14.
     Sackett publishes the Coos Bay (Ore.) World and a group of 13 labor weeklies in northern California. He also owns a Coos Bay radio station. Last Saturday he announced plans for establishing new publications in Oakland and Portland, Ore.

—Albany Democrat-Herald, Albany, Oregon, 7 May 1959, p 21

[Verbatim report over 3 pages in The World, Coos Bay, Oregon, 14 Sep 1961]
p 10
A Day In Court With Sheldon F. Sackett ...
[Report prefaced by "(Editor's note — Herewith another "day in court" with Sheldon F. Sackett, who is being sued for divorce and whose wife is asking that he be cited for contempt of court, for non-payment of alimony, and that a receiver be appointed to handle his business affairs until the divorce is settled.)"]
p 11
... Wife Argues Publisher Is In Contempt
p 12
Court Day With Sackett

—The World, Coos Bay, Oregon, 14 Sep 1961, pp 10-12

Sackett Pays Up Alimony and Fees
Contempt of court proceedings against Sheldon F. Sackett, publisher of a group of labor papers, were dropped today after he obeyed a court order to pay $15,445 in back alimony and attorney fees.
     Sackett is being sued for divorce by his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Sackett, 171 Estates Drive, Piedmont.
     Superior Judge Marvin Sherwin ordered Sackett Nov. 15 to make payments covering the period up to Aug. 8.
     Time for payment expired today. Myron Harris, attorney for Mrs. Sackett, notified the court that Sackett paid up yesterday.

—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, 8 Dec 1961, p 32

Yolo Record Is Purchased By Bay Publisher
Woodland (AP) Sheldon F. Sackett, San Francisco publisher, announced today the inauguration of a new newspaper, The World of Yolo County.
     The World is the successor to the Yolo County Record, formerly the Woodland Record, which was published by Mr. and Mrs. G Douglas Tibbits.
     Sackett announced plans in the first edition today of transforming the weekly paper into a daily in the fall, with separate editions serving Davis and eastern Yolo County.
     Sackett also publishes newspapers titled The World in Burley, Idaho; Coos Bay, Ore; Sonoma and Roseville, as well as a number of labor newspapers in California.

—The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, 21 Sep 1967, p 43

Publisher Dies of Long Illness
San Francisco (AP)—Sheldon F. Sackett, 66, newspaper publisher and broadcaster with properties in Idaho, Oregon and California, died yesterday after a long illness.
     Sackett's holdings included the Valley Cable System of Twin Falls. He also was former owner of the World of Burley, now the South Idaho Press, in Burley.
     Sackett had been in poor health for several years. He entered the Pacific University Medical Center July 2.
     A native of Jefferson, Ore., Sackett is survived by three sons, David of Spokane, Wash; John of San Francisco, and Schuyler of Piedmont, Calif; a daughter, Marcia Ann Kimball of Berkeley, Calif; four grandchildren and a brother, Leland Sackett, Sheridan, Ore.

—Spokane Chronicle, Spokane, Washington, 2 Sep 1968, p 2

Sheldon Sackett, Publisher, Dies
Sheldon F. Sackett, a flamboyant publisher who owned newspapers in three western states, is dead at 66.
     He succumbed yesterday in a San Francisco hospital, following a lengthy illness.
     Mr. Sackett, owned the Olympic Press in Oakland, the Valley Cable System in Twin Falls, Ida., and was president of World Newspapers Inc. of San Francisco and Daily World in Coos Bay, Ore. He also headed radio station KOOS in Coos Bay.
     During his colorful career, in which he bought newspapers the way some people collect antiques, Mr. Sackett had owned papers in Alameda, San Leandro and Vancouver.
     He also owned the old radio station KROW in Oakland and KVAN in Vancouver.
     After leaving the high school in 1925, he purchased his first paper, the McMinnville Telephone-Register in Oregon.
     Mr. Sackett was a co-founder of the Oregon Statesman in Salem and later bought the Coos Bay World, which he published for 38 years.
     He lived for several years in Piedmont until his divorce from his second wife, actress Elizabeth Worthington, after a drawn-out and stormy legal battle that spanned six years, ending in 1965. During the court fight he revealed that his fortune was in excess of $3.5 million.
     He is survived by three sons, David of Spokane, John of San Francisco and Schuyler of Piedmont; a daughter, Mrs. Marcia Kimball of Berkeley; a brother, Leland R. Sackett of Sheridan, Ore., and four grandchildren.
     Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. tomorrow in the Halstead & Co. mortuary, 1123 Sutter St., San Francisco.

—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, 2 Sep 1968, p 55

Cotati World Publisher Dies
Sheldon F. Sackett, 66, publisher of the weekly World of Sonoma County and several other West Coast papers, died Saturday in a San Francisco hospital after an illness of two months.
     Sackett a newspaper publisher since 1925, was born in Jefferson, Ore., Aug. 2, 1902, the son of Judge Fred R. and Mrs. Sackett.
     He was graduated from Willamette University, Salem, in 1922, and took graduate study at Columbia University, New York and the University of Oregon.
     He purchased the McMinneville, Ore. Telephone Register in 1925. In 1930 he purchased the World of Coos Bay (Oregon), which he still owned at the time of his death.
     In addition to the Coos Bay newspaper he owned The World of Sonoma County; The Olympic Press, Oakland; the Valley Television Cable System, Twin Falls, Idaho; Radio Station KOOS, Coos Bay, and several labor papers in the East Bay Area.
     Sackett was well known in Sonoma County, having purchased the former Rohnert Park Press, the Cotatian, the Santa Rosa News and the Sentinel, all county weekly newspapers, which he combined into the weekly World of Sonoma County in 1967. He continued publishing the local weekly up to the time of his death.
     He was married twice, both marriages ending in divorce. His first wife was the former Evelyn Zingleman Schwabe, Portland, Ore., whom he married in 1948. His second marriage, to Elizabeth Worthington, took place in 1950. He was divorced from his second wife in 1965.
     He was a member of the Commonwealth Club, the San Francisco Press Club, the University Club of Portland, Sigma Delta Chi fraternity, the Coos Bay-North Bend Rotary Club, the Elks, the Masons and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.
     He is survived by three sons, David Schulyer, Spokane, Wash; John Walton, San Francisco, and Schulyer Worthington, Piedmont; a daughter, Marcia Anne Kimball, Berkeley; a brother, Leland R. Sackett, Sheridan, Ore., and four grandchildren.
     Funeral Services were held today at 3 p.m. at Halsted & Co. 1123 Sutter St., San Francisco.
     Interment will be at Albany, Ore.

—Petaluma Argus-Courier, Petaluma, California, 3 Sep 1968, p 12

Sara Gillette
Escondido — Sara Gillette, 79, of Escondido died March 27 at a local convalescent home.
     She was born March 25, 1902, in the Arizona Territory and had lived in Escondido for 40 years. She was graduated from Willamette University at Salem, Ore., and taught in the Oregon schools. She and her husband, Clarence J. "Jeeter" Gillette, operated a newspaper in Oregon before they came to Escondido.
     Mrs. Gillette was a former member of the Garden Club, Woman's Club and Methodist Church, all of Escondido.
     Surviving, besides her husband, are a son, David Sackett of La Jolla; three granddaughters; one brother; and one sister.
     No formal service is planned. The family has suggested that those who care to do so, in lieu of flowers, make contributions in her memory to the Escondido Public Library.

—Times-Advocate, Escondido, California, 31 Mar 1981, p 21

Residence halls honor two energetic women
by Corvallis historian Kenneth Munford
Waldo Hall and Sackett Hall at Oregon State University bear the names of two women who had an impact as members of the governing body of the institution.
Beatrice Walton Sackett
     Beatrice Walton had a satisfying career before it became popular for women to have well-rounded lives, balancing a family and professional life.
     She was born in Salem in 1898. She attended Salem schools and Willamette University and graduated from Mills College in California in 1920. She taught school in Astoria for two years before returning to Salem as a secretary to J. A. Churchill, state superintendent of public instruction. She assisted Hal Hoss, private secretary to Gov. I. L. Patterson.
     When Hoss became secretary of state, Beatrice Walton became the governor's executive secretary and continued in that position through the administration of Gov. A. W. Norblad. She went off on a long vacation trip to Europe. In London in December 1930 she received a cable from Governor-elect Julius Meier, whom she had never met, inviting her to become his executive secretary. She cut the trip short and came home.
     The next year, in December 1931 at age 33, she married Sheldon F. Sackett, 29, in the house in Salem in which she was born.
     In 1934 Gov. Meier appointed Mrs. Sackett to the State Board of Higher Education. The next governor, C. H. Martin, asked her to be his secretary, but she chose to return to private life. With her daughter Marcia Anne and her husband she moved to Coos Bay, where he published the Coos Bay Times and other newspapers. Their son John Walton was born in 1938.
     She was the only woman on the board of higher education through the austere 1930s and war years and into the post-war boom. Much of the time, she was the board's vice president. She had a hand in planning a residence hall of unique and graceful design to house 285 women at Jefferson Way and 30th Street.
     As it neared completion, she died of cancer in Coos Bay on May 19, 1947. The board named it Beatrice Walton Sackett Hall in her memory.

—Corvallis Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Oregon, 2 Nov 1992, p 8