Roger Alan DeVall

Roger attended David Douglas High School and graduated from Mt. Hood Community College with his Associates Degree and from Oregon State University with his Pharmacy degree. He was a pharmacist with BiMart for over 30 years.

Roger is survived by his loving wife, Emily, of 33 years whom he met at OSU. He is also survived by his son, Alan and daughter-in-law, Michelle, and daughter Amy and his one brother, Martin DeVall and his wife, Deloris.

Roger enjoyed raising his children and was proud of their accomplishments. He enjoyed movies, yard work and gardening, hiking, camping, fishing and crabbing off the Oregon coast. He especially loved cooking and his family knew that baking was his ‘happy meter’.

Please join us in a memorial service at Bateman Carroll Funeral Home in Gresham on Friday, July 18, 2014 at 11 am with a celebration reception to follow at the family’s home.

Donations may be made to: “in Memory of’… Providence Portland Medical Foundation.

To Roger My Brother

Roger was my younger brother. He was kind, always understanding and listened. As boys growing up there were very few conflicts. We generally respected each other’s space and got along for the most part. Roger learned early on by example of his older brother, how not to get in trouble with our Mother, Doris.

As adults, Roger was my on-call, go to medical expert. With his Pharmacy degree in hand from OSU, he was always there to help out my family at a moment’s notice. I called him many times and sometimes late with a question and he was always there for me and had the right answer.

Roger was very close to his family. Along with his loving wife, Emily, they raised two beautiful children Alan and Amy, who have become very respectable adults themselves.

Roger loved to work in his yard and garden, sharing with family and friends. In recent months his cancer made this more difficult, but he managed to still find a way to revitalize the ornamental front fence. I was quite impressed when he showed it to me this spring.

The Beach was one of Roger’s favorite places to go on vacations. He would always take the family to the Oregon Coast a number of times each year and, of course, Hawaii was also a favorite destination, back to where Emily grew up.

I respect Roger’s quiet and steadfast accomplishments in life, his occupation, his sense of family values and expectations, his caring for our mother when she became sick with cancer, his reciprocated respect and generous help to my family.

There are so many other ways Roger has touched our lives. He will be remembered as a wonderful husband, father, brother, a great friend, a funny uncle, cousin, behind the Pharmacy counter, a home baker, or in the yard gardening. In all these ways and more, he made our lives richer and fuller in these short 58 years.

I will miss you, Your Loving Brother,

Marty

Eulogy by Roger’s son- Alan DeVall

My father’s life was so much more than any of the words that will be said today. He loved his family and his work. He was a strong man all the way to the end, so now I will be strong like him and share some memories.

Most people who knew him well knew that he loved to cook. Exploring new recipes was a hobby of his. It didn’t matter if he was making cookies, scones, prime rib, burgers, salmon, or sushi. If he made it, it was GOOD. I remember one year I came home from FSU during Christmas time and there were six different batches of cookies all of which had been made over the course of two days. I think that was just his way of saying “welcome home.” I’ll always remember coming home from school on his days off to find elaborate snacks for us before we started our homework. I can’t think of anybody who is more of an inspiration to me in the kitchen.

I hear about people who have big aspirations to travel to distant countries or run marathons, but I love my dad because he appreciated the simplest things. Forget the Grand Canyon, Disney World or Europe. His idea of a good vacation was camping or staying in a beach house on the Oregon Coast. It wouldn’t matter how cold it was, he could walk hours on the beach and not get cold or bored. However, he didn’t have to be on vacation to enjoy his family. Some of the greatest times we had as a family were watching movies at home sitting on the couch. Of course he would always fall asleep in the middle, and then we would have to wake him up. I think he loved those times because he could just enjoy us without the stress of traveling.

I can’t think of too many hobbies he had, but he always seemed to love whatever Amy and I were into. He loved watching my sisters dance recitals no matter how many little kid dances he had to sit through. He loved watching me do karate and even endured sitting on an uncomfortable bench for four hours at my black belt test despite the fact that he was undergoing chemotherapy. He loved watching my sister’s soccer games and my baseball games. He even became the head coach one year when the team desperately needed a coach. I always thought he did a great job, but I’m pretty sure he kept thinking to himself, “What the heck I am doing?”

Although he was not really a very good tutor, he was always proud of how well we did in school. As a teacher myself, I can really appreciate just how much that means to a student. I think he was baffled at how well my sister and I did in school because we never seemed to ask anyone for help .

In college, I met a lot of other music majors whose parents had musical backgrounds. Some parents were in band when they were in high school or played the piano, but that wasn’t the case with my dad. He was just my biggest fan, and honestly that was enough. He always joked that he could only sing in the key of Mi. “Mi mi mi mi.” Whether it was hearing my sister and I play piano or hearing me play trombone, he was always supportive. He loved taking me to honor bands or watching my drum corps shows. When I decided that I wanted to major in music at Florida State, he was proud of me. He never questioned whether I would succeed or find a job that would pay a decent salary.

Roger Alan DeVall was a model father and husband. If you asked him what his greatest life accomplishment was, I think he would have said “his family.” Some people cultivate a hobby, but he cultivated his family. He is the man that I strive to live up to, and he was the respectable teacher that I try to be for my students. I am a teacher, and let me tell you not many students these days have the privilege of a father as wonderful as him. This is why I miss him, but more importantly this is how I will remember him.

The first piece of music you will hear in the slide show is called “One Life Beautiful.” It is a tone poem for wind band composed by Julie Giroux. I came across this piece a year ago, and it made me think of my dad. Here is an excerpt from the program notes:

“One Life Beautiful” - The title itself is a double-entendre which in one sense is referring to the person this work is dedicated to as in “one life” that was beautifully lived. The other sense is a direct observation concluding that having only one life is what makes life so sacred, tragic and so very precious. This is an impressionistic work musically describing that condition. Shakespeare’s “sweet sorrow”, the frailty and strength of life, the meaning of what it is to truly live One Life Beautiful.

Eulogy by Emily – her Interpretation of ‘The Train’ Story

Prologue: The story of ‘The Train’ was emailed to us a few days before Roger lost his battle with cancer. It came from one of his OSU classmates, Jim Johnson that he hadn’t seen in over 30 years. Coincidentally one of Roger’s OSU friends, Richard McLeod, notified Jim of Roger’s health situation and gave Jim our email. I read the story to Roger just a day or two before he passed and it brought a rush of tears for both Roger and I. When Roger passed away, I thought about how this story fit so well.

Somehow Roger and I sensed that his time with his family was short. Roger passed away on Saturday, July 12, 2014 at 6:45am at Providence Medical Center’s Cancer Center and he struggled with the pain and suffering through his last dying breath. The Thursday before he died, Roger asked me to drive him to Rooster Rock on the Columbia Gorge. He didn’t have the strength to walk so we parked and sat near the car staring out at the beautiful Columbia River. He enjoyed the scenery and weather and watching the fish jump. Roger reminisced about his old childhood days with his Mom (Doris), brother (Marty), and neighbor friends playing in the river with their army men toys and picnicking. Roger grew up enjoying the simple things in life and even raising his family, he followed the same philosophy of just doing simple things with his children and me. Roger had a strong heart and lung and fought the cancer to the end.

Interpretation: Roger boarded my train and was my companion traveling with me for 35+ wonderful years giving me many memories that I’ll cherish. He gave me two wonderful children—Alan and Amy. I guess it was his time to de-board my train.

I thank him for making the time we had together very special and for being such a wonderful friend, partner, soul mate, advisor, gardener, fix-it man, and the world’s best father. I will remember Roger as my “Mr. Baker” for even as he endured the awful chemotherapy and suffered through all those surgeries and hospitalizations, I knew those moments when he was feeling better because I’d come home from work and find he had baked a batch of cookies, a pie, or something. He loved his kids so much that he would always get up early just to bake or make the kids’ breakfasts and prepare their lunches even through high school.

The moment he threw that paper airplane during finals week in the OSU library where he looked up and smiled, my heart lit up and I was head over heels over a guy that I had never met before, and he was standing a good 20-30 feet away. Somehow that shy smile of his captured my heart and I went home that night from the library anxious to tell my roommates like Lesli, that I was crazy in love with this guy. It was literally love at first sight. I’ve never stopped loving him and my love for him will remain as I journey on with my train ride. I miss you ‘sweetie’. I wish I could hold your hand or feel your hug and hear your voice again one last time. I don’t know how to go on because I’m hurting inside now, but somehow with the help and support of all of our family and friends, your children and I will slowly learn to cope and our hearts will heal. And with that I say ‘A-L-O-H-A’ to my longtime husband & sweetheart and an awesome father. I love you Roger.