Dale Dempster Rohrbough

Dale Dempster Rohrbough was born on October 19, 1939 in Albany, Oregon to Darel and Pearl Rohrbough and passed away on March 23, 2025 at his home in Damascus, Oregon.

His father was a highway engineer for Oregon, which led to the family moving to various towns throughout the state including Albany, Jordan Valley, Dallas, Milwaukie and Baker City, before finally settling in Portland for Dale’s high school years.

Dale graduated from Washington High School, Portland, Oregon in 1957. He attended Clark Community College where he threw the javelin and won the Washington Community College state title for track and field. He attended the University of Portland and Portland State University where he earned his Bachelor’s in Science in Business. He attended OSU and U of O and earned his Master’s in Education..

Dale met the love of his life, MaryAnn Aizawa through a coed dance at Marylhurst College which led to a marriage on November 14, 1964 that would last until her passing in 2019. They enjoyed travel/camping throughout the state, eventually leading to most of the country and many parts of the world. In 1979, the Rohrboughs purchased a piece of land on the Long Beach Peninsula where they still have a house today.

Prior to establishing himself as a high school teacher and coach, Dale explored the possibilities of becoming a Forest Ranger in the Mt. Hood National Forest suppressing fires and building a number of campgrounds still visited today. He leaned into his financial background working for Commercial Credit for a short time. Additionally, Dale served nearly 2 decades in the Army Reserve, achieving the rank of Major.

As a teacher for Gresham and Sam Barlow high schools for 30 years, Dale taught Personal Finance, Typing and Marketing. In addition, he taught Driver’s Ed, ran the DECA marketing club and the Barlow student store, where he was infamously known as the “Cookie Man”.

His passion for sports led him to coaching basketball, football and track at the high school level and even some athletic groups outside of school with his kids. He was also an avid fan of both college and professional sports and was a Portland Trailblazer season ticket holder for a time.

Dale enjoyed fishing, crabbing, clamming, rockhounding and spent time developing his skills painting in both oils and watercolors. Dale will be remembered for his kind heart and witty sense of humor.

Dale is survived by his son, Stephen Rohrbough of Portland, OR; daughter, Stephanie Hawes (Michael) of Happy Valley, OR; brother, John Rohrbough of Arizona; and grandchildren, Blake, Samantha, Patrick, Alexa and Ireland.