George Randall ‘Randy’
Jelinek,
1927-2001
McMinnville
N-R/News-Register Aug 25, 2001
Born 21 Nov 1927 Three Rivers, St. Joseph County, Michigan
Died 22 Aug 2001
(aged 73) McMinnville, Yamhill County,
Oregon
George
Randall “Randy” Jelinek of McMinnville died Aug. 22, 2001, in his home, from
complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He was 73.
Mr.
Jelinek was chairman of the Linfield College art department from 1965 to 1980.
A
memorial celebration with art and music will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 15
in Renshaw Hall at Linfield College, McMinnville.
He
was born Nov. 21, 1927, in Three Rivers, Mich., and raised in Grand Island,
Neb.
He
and Barbara Fincher were married Aug. 23, 1953.
Mr.
Jelinek studied in Vienna, Austria, in 1956-57. He then returned to the United
States and earned a bachelor of arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago
and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Washington. He lived in
Illinois, New Jersey, and Everett and Renton, Wash., before moving to
McMinnville.
After
retiring as chairman of the Linfield art department, he did free-lance
commercial art work, including creation of logos for the city of McMinnville
and Yamhill County.
He
and his wife lived and worked in Scotland in 1983, in Zimbabwe in 1995 and in
China in 1998.
Mr.
Jelinek was a founding member of the McMinnville Art Association, which later
became the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County. He had exhibited his work in the
Arlene Schnitzer Gallery, Portland, and recently contributed to a retrospective
show honoring Portland artist Jack McLarty.
He
also was active on the Yamhill County Democratic Central Committee, serving as
a precinctperson. He was a supporter of Gallery Theater, McMinnville, and other
cultural groups.
Survivors
include his wife; two daughters, Julie Baird of Jackson Hole, Wyo., and
Victoria Jelinek of Los Angeles; a son, Gregory Monnix Jelinek of Seattle;
three brothers, Donald Jelinek and David Jelinek, both of Grand Island, Neb.,
and Howard Jelinek of Jacksonville, Fla.; and three grandchildren.
PHOTO
black & white from Linfield Archives, circa 1979-1979. Professor Randall
Jelinek is
captured in a candid moment during class. Jelinek was chair of the art
department from 1965 to 1980. He was also a founding member of the McMinnville
Art Association, now called the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County. Photo likely
by Reid Blackburn.
PHOTO
color added by Sheri West.
:::
Barbara Fincher
Jelinek,
1933 - 2022
McMinnville
N-R/News-Register September-October 2022
Student,
teacher, traveler, writer, activist and actress, Barbara Fincher Jelinek died
September 25, 2022, in Seattle, Washington, having moved there in 2015 after 51
years in McMinnville, Oregon.
Born
March 23, 1933, in Steger, Illinois, to Laura Monnix and Joseph Victor Fincher,
Barbara received a bachelor’s degree from the School of Speech and Drama at
Northwestern University in Evanston. In the years that followed, Barbara went
farther afield, studying in Vienna, New York and Mexico City, ultimately
completing a master’s degree in Education from Linfield College, after
following her husband, Randall Jelinek, to McMinnville in 1965 when he was
appointed Chair of the Art Department there.
While
her children were young, Barbara was an editor and writer for Linfield
College’s various publications, an adjunct teacher of English at the college,
and a freelance writer for the News-Register. In 1968, she received state and
national awards for a series of articles in that newspaper about the need for
separate facilities for mentally ill adolescents, at the time housed with the
elderly in the State Hospital in Salem. Phil Bladine, publisher, distributed
copies of the series to all members of the Oregon State Legislature, which led
to their establishing Poyama Land, a treatment center for children in Polk,
Marion, and Yamhill counties.
Simultaneously,
Barbara held various positions in Yamhill County’s Democratic Central
Committee, including the role of chairperson, and was the candidate for state
representative in 1983, the same year she was invited to the White House to
meet President Jimmy Carter.
Barbara
continued to support civic projects and cultural organizations throughout her
life, such as the Linfield Chamber Orchestra, the Arts Alliance, and Gallery
Theater. The latter was so named because it started in 1968 with summer
performances in what was then the Linfield art building’s art gallery.
Beginning
with that summer of 1968, Barbara had leading roles in numerous Gallery plays,
such as The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Lion in Winter.
More recently, she was Maria Callas in Master Class and a woman struggling to
recover from a stroke in Wings, by Arthur Kopit. She also directed numerous
plays at Gallery, at Sheridan High School and at McMinnville High School, in
collaboration with her fellow drama teacher and dear friend, Carol Burnett.
Over
the course of her lifetime, Barbara taught drama and English in Illinois, New
Jersey, Washington state and Oregon and was awarded two Fulbright Scholarships
to teach in Scotland and Zimbabwe, respectively. Even after retiring from
McMinnville High School, Barbara continued to teach drama and English as a
Second Language in China.
A
companion throughout her adventures, Barbara’s husband died August 22, 2001, a
day before their 48th wedding anniversary. They are survived by their children,
Julie Baird and Gregory Monnix Jelinek, both of Seattle, and Victoria Jelinek
Jensen of Chamonix. Her grandchildren are Daniel Jelinek, Kaya Baird, Finnegan
Jelinek, Zoe Jelinek, and Sebastian Jensen.
Barbara
claimed the best summing up of one’s life is an epitaph she once read
containing the remains of a young woman at a cathedral on Scotland’s principal
Orkney Island:
She
lived respected
And died regretted.
In
lieu of a festive gathering to honor Barbara at this time, people are asked to
donate to the Zoe Jelinek Memorial Fund on www.gofundme.com. Tragically,
Barbara’s granddaughter Zoe died in a sudden accident earlier on the same day
that Barbara had the stroke that would send her to intensive care and
ultimately conclude her own life.
……………………………
This
is an abbreviated version of Barbara’s obituary from September because there
will now be a memorial service and reception to honor Barbara’s life. Those who
knew Barbara, in one way or another, are invited to join her family to
reminisce, chuckle, lament, and enjoy the opportunity to celebrate a unique
woman’s life.
Thursday,
13 April, 2023, 2 p.m., the Gallery Theater, 210 N.E. Ford St., McMinnville,
Oregon.
Student,
teacher, writer, activist, actress, Barbara Fincher Jelinek died September 25,
2022, in Seattle, Washington, having moved there in 2015 after 51 years in
Oregon. Over the course of her lifetime, Barbara taught Drama and English in
various states and countries, and was a founding member of the Gallery Players
Theater in the 1960s.
A
companion throughout her adventures, Randall, Barbara’s husband, died Aug. 22,
2001. They are survived by their children, Julie Baird, Gregory M. Jelinek, and
Victoria Jensen. Their grandchildren are Daniel Jelinek, Finnegan Jelinek, Kaya
Baird, and Sebastian Jensen. Sadly, a fifth grandchild, Zoe Jelinek, is
deceased.
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