Mark (“Mr. O”, “Odo”) O’Doherty, legendary Chapman Elementary School fourth grade teacher, died of cancer at the Hopewell House in Portland, Oregon, surrounded by love. He was 60. Mark was “Mr. O” to his students, and “Odo” to friends throughout his life.
From the single classroom he taught in for more than 32 years, “Mr. O” filled the lives of hundreds of students with learning, love, stories, and song. The tree planted outside his classroom window when he began his career, now stands as tall as the lives he helped nurture. Mark began teaching by leading young people in outdoor schools in the mid to late seventies followed by summer camps during the eighties, until he began teaching full-time at Chapman in 1984. He later served on the board of Four Winds # Westward Ho, the camp on Orcas Island where he had so many good times.
Odo was an accomplished musician, songwriter, and storyteller. He loved to play golf and was one of the founding members of The Mulligan Stooges, a treasured golf group of close friends. He stewed over his Oregon Ducks, yet supported his friends’ Oregon State Beavers as well. He followed the West Albany Bulldogs, where he was student body president and the starting center for their football team. He performed his fabulous Elvis impersonations during assemblies. On summer breaks while teaching, Odo traveled much of the Pacific Crest Trail, hiking to “food drops” his friends buried at strategic points down the trail. He found great joy in adventuring with friends in his fabulous camper, “The Beast”. Bigger than life, with an incomparable wit, Odo’s ability to entertain his friends was limitless.
Surviving Mark are his mother, Jeanne; his brothers Bryan and Dennis, and their wives Theresa and Gererdene; his sister Kelly and her husband Harry Kronberg; seven nieces and nephews; five great-nieces and a great-nephew; as well as godchildren and many very close friends. As he said, his many friends were his legacy. Mark’s beloved father, Barney, died in 2005.
Family, friends, and ex-students are warmly invited to attend a Celebration of Life, sharing stories, songs and memories of Odo on January 3, 2019, 3:30 – 7pm, at The Portland Golf Club. In lieu of flowers, please contribute in memory of Mark to your favorite children’s charity (e.g. Friends of the Children, First Tee, Doernbecher).
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