Obituary: Gary William Woodring left this life in peace Sunday evening, Nov. 23, 2025, at the age of 88, in memory care at the Village at Valley View in Ashland, Oregon. A celebration of life is tentatively planned for Jan. 17, 2026, at Trinity Episcopal in Ashland, Oregon, at 44 N. Second St., Ashland.
Obituary: Wendell Thomas Fitzgerald passed away Saturday, Dec. 6, at his home, surrounded by friends and loved ones. He will long be remembered for his tireless contributions to Southern Oregon, for his work in keeping GMO crops out of Jackson County and especially for reestablishing Ashland’s Bellview Grange with many new members.
Obituary: Vincent Paul Shubat died on Dec. 19, 2025, at the age of 90, leaving behind a wide circle of family, friends, and acquaintances. Vince lived a life defined by curiosity, courage, and connection.
Wanda Petzold Olsrud, known for her quiet but steadfast generosity and the decades she and her late husband Sherm spent supporting community organizations from medical facilities to youth programs, died on Monday at the age of 100.
Obituary: Bonnie Lou Shaffer died peacefully July 30, after a valiant battle with blood cancer. A longtime Ashland resident, Bonnie worked in the costume and wardrobe department at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Obituary: Chuck Yates passed away Dec. 1 at his home in Talent. A musician since childhood, Chuck performed all around Texas, ending his career as a music repairman at Ashland’s Cripple Creek Music.
Obituary: Janet Sue (Qualls) Myers passed away on Nov. 2, 2025, in Talent. She was 71. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, in Ashland.
Obituary: Longtime Ashland resident Judith “Judy” Ellen Greifer Benjamin passed away on Jan. 14, 2024. She was 91. A former president of the local League of Women Voters, Judy lived a life “filled with curiosity, creativity, and global adventure.” A graveside internment of ashes and memorial will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 15, at the Jacksonville Cemetery. At 2 p.m., a memorial celebration of life will be held at the family home.
Obituary: Jackie Clay died peacefully at home on Nov. 17, 2025, in Ashland, Oregon, where she lived for 11 years. She was a Realtor in Oroville, California, for 20 years. She also owned an upholstery shop for many decades, working alongside her husband sewing fabrics into beautiful furniture creations.
Obituary: Gerald “Jerry” Hauck (also known as Coach) passed away unexpectedly. A 30-year high school teacher, coach and administrator, Hauck ended his career with 204 wins as the Ashland High School boys basketball coach, the most by any boys basketball coach in the high school’s history.
Winless WWU made Raiders work for their sixth win in seven games. WWU lost an early 10-point lead but trimmed SOU’s edge to 82-79 before Gio Evanson stepped back for a long two with 1:44 to go. The Raiders secured a 92-87 victory Saturday at Windemuth Court
Southern Oregon forced 24 turnovers and kept Walla Walla (Washington) at 27% shooting to collect its 10th victory, 82-47 in Cascade Conference play Saturday night at Windemuth Court. The win gave the Raiders a weekend split, leaving them in a three-way tie for second place behind unbeaten Eastern Oregon.
Asante Ashland Community Hospital’s Family Birth Center is closing this spring, but first the staff delivered the hospital system’s first baby of the new year on Thursday, Jan. 1. And not only is she the first New Year’s baby in Southern Oregon, but her mom, Cameron, was the first New Year’s baby girl born on Jan. 1, 2000, to mark the turn of the millennium at Providence Medford Medical Center.
Thursday marked the first day of the 2026 new year, and with that, a new set of laws passed by the Oregon Legislature took effect. They span from stronger accountability provisions for utility companies to criminal penalties for spreading AI-generated revenge porn.
An Ashland center for the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism offered a chance “for people to gather their aspirations and hopes for the new year and offer it at the shrine” on Thursday, Jan. 1, according to Martha Wilhelm, a board member at Kagyu Sukha Chöling on Clear Creek Drive.
An Ashland nonprofit set up a GoFundMe site in early December to help finance medical treatment for Mystic Moon, a horse that has provided comfort and healing to hundreds of individuals with trauma across the Rogue Valley and beyond.
(It’s free)
