Alan Jarvis

Alan Jarvis, 53, was born in Coventry, England to Catherine and Joseph Jarvis. He is the beloved father of Joss and Jared Jarvis and the husband of Kim Jarvis. He is the cherished brother of Angela Jarvis-Holland and her husband Steven Holland and the proud uncle of Quinn and Daniel Jarvis-Holland, all of Portland. He was a man full of love, devoted to his family and friends, who also had a real sense of fun. He reveled in his love of music and enjoyed the slight absurdities of life. His sense of humor is something we will all remember about him. Before moving to Portland in 2003, Alan and Kim lived in South London for 12 years. They met through his sister Angela and, never one to conform to convention, when they decided to get married they entertained their family and friends with a cowboy-themed wedding in Walthamstow, London in 1991. Alan was determined not to wear a suit to his wedding, so instead he donned a bolo tie, jeans, a cowboy hat and a huge silver belt buckle. It was a joyous day that resulted in many cherished memories. Alan started married life working as a residential social worker, but when the internet started to take off he moved to the IT industry where he had a training job at Global Internet before starting his own computer repair company AJ Computing. The couple decided to move to Portland after their second son Jared was born, settling in a house near the bottom of Rocky Butte where Alan loved to be able to look out of his back window onto a view of beautiful trees. Once they were established in Oregon, Alan again returned to IT, becoming a Quality Assurance Engineer for several companies including RMLS, Kryptiq and Clever Devices. He loved being able to identify a problem and then work to come up with a solution. Alan, Kim and the boys enjoyed traveling. Before they left England they made sure to visit Greece, Spain, Italy and France. Once they settled in Oregon they took full advantage of the beauty of the state with several camping trips up and down the west coast including a very special trip to Crater Lake this past summer. They also enjoyed trips back to England and Alan always tried to make sure his sons appreciated being half English. Alan was a frequent volunteer for the Northwest Down Syndrome Association, offering lots of technical support as well as hands on help during the group’s annual Buddy Walk and All Born In conference. Alan truly loved music of all varieties, especially early punk music, and enjoyed sharing his vast collection of vinyl with anyone who would care to listen with him. He especially enjoyed being able to DJ this summer when his friend Julie visited from England. In the early days of their relationship, he and Kim thoroughly enjoyed travelling to music festivals throughout Britain in their Volkswagen camper van. He also enjoyed playing video games and watching several sci-fi television series, disagreeing with Kim that the best Star Trek captain was Kirk instead of Picard. He was also a dedicated Dr Who fan for several decades. Alan had a great sense of humor and a very generous heart. He was never happier than when he was surrounded by family and friends and loved to host huge dinners and barbecues. This carried on through this last holiday season when he was surrounded by family for their last Christmas together. Despite the terminal cancer diagnosis looming over his head, he still had his family laughing so hard they cried. He was lucky enough to enjoy visits from people near and far before his passing and he cherished each and every moment he could spend with those he loved. He will be greatly missed. Service Information