Umatilla

August 24, 1922 — December 22, 2020

Lura O. (Odessa) Trott of Umatilla, Oregon, passed away peacefully at her Umatilla home on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, shortly after 10 p.m. with her son David at her side. She was preceded in death by her daughter Kathleen (2019), her son Richard (2017), and her husband Gregg (1981).

Lura was born in Bellaire, Ohio, on August 24, 1922; she was 98 years young on her last birthday. Lura was one of 12 siblings born to Thomas E. Robson and Clara “Renee” Davis. Lura was the final surviving member of her family. Both of her parent were born in the mid-1880s.

Lura came to Umatilla with her daughter Kathleen in 1997, moving from Tucson, Arizona, where they had spent many years. Lura also lived in Kennewick, Spokane, and Tacoma, Washington, along with other places while her husband Gregg served in the Air Force. Lura and her daughter had always lived and traveled together in recent years.

Lura leaves a son David and daughter-in-law Sheila of Umatilla, Oregon; granddaughter Rachel Carter Trott of San Francisco, California, and Rachel’s three grandchildren, Delaney, Callum and Hadley; grandson Stephen Trott of Kennewick, Washington; nieces Monique Trott of Kennewick, Washington, and Carol Robson of Modesto, California, and nephew William LaRoche of Cardington, Ohio; and other nieces and nephews living in Ohio and Oklahoma.

Lura worked as a government employee during WWII, in Army intelligence. Her first husband was killed in a Jeep accident several weeks after their marriage and during the invasion of Normandy. She married her second husband, Gregg H. Trott, on July 1, 1949.

Following her marriage to Gregg, she raised their children, performed community volunteer work, and volunteered for the American Red Cross at various Air Force base hospitals in Washington, California, and Arizona (Tucson). In more recent years she and her daughter did volunteer work in Umatilla, until her arthritis made her more home-bound.

Lura’s favorite weekly activity for many years was Saturday breakfast or lunch with her daughter and son at the Hermiston, Oregon, McDonald’s. She loved the McDonald’s staff and was known by all of them. Lura was an accomplished seamstress, collected hummingbird ornaments, and devoted to her five cats (Jax, Abbey, Marty, Millie, and Mo). She never left her house without first assuring that the cats were happy, and assuring them she would always be right back.

She and her daughter valued the friendship of their neighbor Joaquin and his family. Joaquin helped them with their outside yard work and was a frequent talking partner, always coming to see how she was doing, bringing food, and just being a valuable part of her family.

Final arrangements are being handled by Burns Mortuary in Hermiston, Oregon. At Lura’s request, she asked to be cremated. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later time, to include that for her daughter Kathleen, the COVID-19 virus being the mitigator for service arrangements.

Anyone who wishes to remember Lura in a special way, she requested that a remembrance donation be made to your favorite Native American charity, or the Disabled American Veterans. Some of Lura’s ancestral heritage traces back to the Algonquin Indians.

Please share memories of Lura with her family at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.