Marvin Greig McEldowney

Marvin McEldowney is remembered with great affection by those fortunate to have known his warm, gregarious nature and boundless generosity.

The longtime resident of Milwaukie, Oregon, passed away in Lake Oswego, where he had moved in 2021 after a cancer diagnosis.

Born in Junction City, Oregon, to Frank and Gertie McEldowney, he grew up with his two younger brothers in nearby Harrisburg, where his father was the school principal and his mother, a homemaker.

After graduating in 1956 from what is now Oregon State University with a B.S. in Business and a minor in Building Construction, he went on to serve in the U.S. Army at Bamberg, Germany, where he was a message center chief and worked doing taxes in the legal section.

He met Marilyn, his wife of 60-plus years, at a Fourth of July picnic in 1961. After marrying and living briefly in Albany and Roseburg, they would raise their three children in the Oak Grove area of Milwaukie.

Professionally, Marvin was a Certified General Appraiser and a Principal Real Estate Broker in the State of Oregon. He began his career with the Linn County assessor’s office and then moved to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), where he worked for 22 years in the Region 1 office in Milwaukie appraising and acquiring rights-of-way for road construction projects. After retiring from ODOT, he and a partner started Hanna, McEldowney and Associates in 1989, a highly respected right-of-way services and real estate appraisal firm. He also was an esteemed member of the International Right of Way Association and was past president of the Beaver State Chapter.

Together with Marilyn, Marvin maintained an active life throughout the years, from Monday night volleyball at Oak Grove School and square dancing with the Gladstone Happy Rock’rs to family campouts, world travel, and snowbirding with friends old and new in Mexico and Indio, California. Longtime members of the Horseless Carriage Club of America, the couple delighted in outings in their antique cars, as well as traveling the northwest in their motorhome with the Milwaukie Elks Trail-ers.

Ever the passionate OSU alum, Marvin also enjoyed cheering on his beloved Beavers, especially in football, and was a longtime member of the Milwaukie Elks.

He is survived by wife, Marilyn, children Daniel Golec (JoAnne) of Colorado, Lori Root (Jason) of Portland, and David McEldowney (Lisa) of Portland, brothers Eldon McEldowney (friend, Marva) of Harrisburg and Lyle McEldowney (partner, Ellen) of Junction City, six grandchildren, a great-grandson, two nephews, numerous cousins, and an abundance of friends.

Services will be held November 7 at 2:00 PM at Willamette National Cemetery (11800 SE Mt Scott Blvd, Happy Valley, OR), followed by a gathering at the Milwaukie-Portland Elks (13121 SE McLoughlin Blvd, Oak Grove, OR).

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Oregon Humane Society or to cancer research.

To leave an online remembrance or condolences to the family, please visit www.lincolnmemorialpk.com.