Jan. 25, 1922-Jan. 27, 2003

PENDLETON – A rosary for Paul Cimmiyotti will be held at 7 p.m. today in the chapel at Burns Mortuary of Pendleton. Funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 800 S.E. Court Ave., in Pendleton. Following the funeral, burial will be at 3:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Condon.

Paul Conrad Cimmiyotti, 81, of Pendleton, died at his home on Monday, Jan. 27, 2003, after battling cancer for five years.

The fourth of six children, he was born at home, in Clem, on Jan. 25, 1922 to John and Mildred Dunn Cimmiyotti. He was raised on the ranch at Clem and attended a country school, later graduating from Condon High School in 1939.

Paul was the champion bull rider at the Ellensburg, Wash., rodeo in 1938.

After graduating from high school he “caught a handful of boxcars” to Los Angeles with his good friend, Bill Hardie. While in California, he boxed professionally under the name “Paul Dunn” and worked in an aircraft factory.

Mr. Cimmiyotti served 39 months as a Seabee, with the Navy, and saw action at Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Guam islands during World War II.

He returned to Oregon and worked for John and Peck McClaskey at Arlington, before buying a bar in Condon, which he called the “Round Up Tavern.”

In 1951, he married Ann Tierney of Condon. The couple moved to Richland, Ore, and bought a bar and restaurant, which they named “Cimmiyotti’s.” Mr. Cimmiyotti also served as mayor of Richland during the time they lived there.

In 1959, Paul and Ann moved their family to Pendleton, where they bought the Fraternity Club and the Crescent Tavern. After moving the Fraternity Club downstairs, they renamed it “Cimmiyotti’s.” They owned and operated Cimmiyotti’s at its present location for 35 years, until their retirement in 1984.

Mr. Cimmiyotti had served as a Pendleton City Councilman. He was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, the Knight’s of Columbus, the Elk’s Club and the Boxing Commission. He served as a judge at Umatilla Reservation boxing matches, and was a volunteer at St. Mary’s Outreach and the Art’s Center of Pendleton.

He was a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and competed at the Pendleton Round-Up, in the Columbia River Circuit and at the Mustangers.

He was a Round-Up volunteer for 31 years, a board member from 1981-1989 and vice president in 1989. In 1998, he was grand marshal of the Westward Ho! parade, and in 2000 he was inducted into the Round-Up Hall of Fame. He was a board member of the Round-Up Hall of Fame at the time of his death.

Mr. Cimmiyotti had three daughters on the Round-Up court, and devoted much of his time to helping members of Round-Up courts by loaning them his horses and helping them train for the Round-Up entrance at his ranch near Pendleton. One of his great joys was the annual practice and lunch for the court that he and his wife hosted with friends and family at the ranch. He also spent many hours during his retirement training his favorite horse, Barney, to do numerous tricks to the delight of many visitors to his ranch.

Survivors include his wife, Ann, daughters, Kelley Dutcher of Salem, Shannon Collins of Pendleton, Cyd Cimmiyotti-Pampush of Hailey, Idaho, and Gregory Hendricks of West Linn; sons, Nicholas of Lake Oswego and John of Pendleton; brother John “Mick” Cimmiyotti of Hermiston and sister Mildred “Teek” McClaskey of Tillamook; grandchildren Patrick Dutcher, Tierney Dutcher, John Dutcher, and Cyd Dutcher; Kevin Collins, Caitlin Collins, and Paul Collins; Tara Cimmiyotti and Andrea Cimmiyotti; and McKennon Cimmiyotti plus numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, by brothers, Tom and Jim, and sister Eleanor McClaskey.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Round-Up Hall of Fame, St. Mary’s Outreach or a charity of your choice.

Burns Mortuary of Pendleton is in charge of arrangements.