November 1, 2009

Mosier accident victim was farmer at heart

By Kirby Neumann-Rea
Hood River News

     “Ask us about Maggie,” family members are saying after the tragic death of Margaret Guth Bleakley on Oct. 27 at her farm in Mosier.
     A celebration of life is planned after press deadlines Saturday, Oct. 31 at 5:30 p.m. at Mt. Hood Winery (2882 Van Horn Drive, Hood River, Oregon). Attendees should dress casually “jeans and fleece” and bring a favorite dish for potluck. Home grown vegetables from the Bleakleys’ farm will be featured.
     Maggie Bleakley, who coaxed ample produce from the soil, was 28. She operated Mosier Valley Organics on Davenport Road with her husband, Silas.
     She is survived by her husband, Silas, whom she married on Aug. 15, 2009 at their farm, and by her parents, Ron and Marg Guth of Hood River, her sister, Jamie, and her brother, Peter, of Hood River.
     “She was a beautiful soul,” said Jamie. “People said that when they talked to her, she made them feel like they were the most important person in the world.
“We want people to know that we want them to talk to us about Maggie, to ask questions. That’s how we remember her.”
     According to the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, Maggie Bleakley died at about 5:20 p.m. after becoming trapped under a vehicle. The Sheriff’s report stated that Bleakley got out of the vehicle and lost her footing, slipping under it.      The vehicle rolled backward and Bleakley was pinned by the front driver’s tire. Hood River Fire Department paramedics pronounced Bleakley dead at the scene.
     She was born in Kansas on Oct. 13, 1981, and graduated from Hood River Valley High School in 2000 and the University of Hawaii in 2004 with a degree in Spanish. She traveled throughout the world, studying in Cuba and Spain, and spent three months in Southeast Asia with Silas. They lived on an organic farm in Hawaii, where Jamie said Maggie gained her love of agriculture, and the couple decided to return to the gorge.
     “They wanted to make a difference in the farming community here,” Jamie said. In addition to working the farm, Silas Bleakley teaches at Columbia Gorge Community College.
     The farm raises chickens and extensive produce such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, and 15 types of potatoes.
     “She was testing the soil, seeing what grows best,” Jamie said. The Bleakleys were actively involved in the Gorge Grown Food Network, and Maggie had “huge plans” for the farm, including contracts for special orders for gorge restaurants.
     Her sister said that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations should go to Gorge Grown Food Network.