Gordon Dean Rye, 75, of Birch Bay (Blaine, Wash.) has been fighting heart disease for eight years and cancer for almost five years.
On April 8, 2007 at 1 p.m., Easter Sunday, he lost his gallant battle to Leukemia at home surrounded by family and friends.
He was born in Forest City, Iowa, in April, the middle son of Harlan and Grace (Raun) Rye.
In his early years, Gordon was a natural athlete. Know as Dean to his family and Rocky to his school friends, he was a star basketball player at Forest City High School where he set a record for most points scored in a state championship game that stood for over 20 years. Upon graduation, he married and enlisted in the Navy, serving in the Pacific during the Korean War.
Upon leaving the service, he attended and graduated from San Jose State College, in California and then for five years worked as a Probation Officer in Minneapolis. In the early 60s, he returned to San Jose State to pursue a graduate degree. As part of his graduate studies, he took his young family to Norway where he prepared for his thesis on recidivism in Scandinavian correctional systems.
After obtaining a masters degree in Sociology, he joined the California State corrections system as a Probation Officer in Oakland, Calif.
In the late 60s, frustrated with the ever-increasing caseload and little chance to make a difference, he joined the Oakland School District in Special Education in order to help children before they reached the correctional system. He served for over 10 years with the most troubled kids at Bret Hartt Junior High, undoubtedly making a significant and positive impact on their futures. During this period, he obtained his second graduate degree in Special Education from St. Marys College.
In 1979, Gordon had the opportunity to move to Washington state where he joined Marysville-Pilchuck High School as a special education teacher. Much of his energies before he retired in 1992 were focused on meeting the educational needs of Tulalip Tribal youth. He was honored by the Tulalip Nation as the educator of the year for 1989-1990.
A life-time member of the Sons of Norway, Gordon was passionate about his Norwegian heritage. He was an active member of the Pacific Coast Singers Association (PCNSA) since the mid 1960s, first as a member the Normanna Glee Club of Oakland, Calif., and then with the Everett Norwegian Male Chorus and finally with the Bellingham Male Chorus. During that time, he served as President of the Forbund for several years and was instrumental in instituting many positive changes in the organization.
Gordon was also passionate about travel, making many trips abroad with his wife, Sherry, to visit family and friends in Norway, Sweden, Germany and England. He was able to combine these passions by organizing very successful concert tours to Scandinavian in 1990, 1994 and 1997 for the PCNSA. His organizational and people skills served the singers well for many years. A gifted conversationalist, Gordon was above all a people person warmth and generosity his hallmark. He will be greatly missed by the countless people he has touched on his journey through life.
Gordon is survived by Sherry, his beloved wife of 32 years; son Karl Erik (Barbara ) of Anchorage, Alaska; daughter Kristi Ann Otteni (Bob) of LaPine, Ore.; son Kjell-Jon (Britta) of Sammamish, Wash.; seven grandchildren; Chris (Tiffany), Finn (Maggie), Nils (Audrey), Kyle, Linnea, Kelsey and Kjerstin and four great-grandchildren; Megan, Erik, Kyla and Drew. He is also survived by his brother Donald (Annette) and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews in Arizona, California, Minnesota and Washington.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Marvin.
A Celebration of Life was held at the Sons of Norways Hall in Seattle (Ballard) on April 23, 2007.
It was Gordons wish to be cremated and have some of his ashes spread at favorite places in Norway and the Pacific Northwest, with internment also at Stillwaters Cremation Cemetery at Green Acres Memorial Park in Ferndale, Wash.