Jess Deardorff

On Monday, January 20, 2020, Jess Deardorff, loving husband and father of four, passed away at the age of 69. Jess was born in Eugene, Oregon to Shirley and Warren Lomax. Shirley later married Don Deardorff who raised Jess from a young age and Jess took his name. Jess grew up in the Corvallis area and loved to roam McDonald Forest and fish on Soap Creek. Jess attended Saint Mary’s Elementary School and Corvallis High School. Jess had his first paying job when he was 10 years old hauling and stacking firewood for Oak Grove Elementary School. He was a hard worker and had several other jobs before graduating from high school including working sheep, hauling hay and working for JC Penney. Jess was drafted into the Navy in 1970 and served for 3 years. He traveled to many countries during his time in the service. Following the Navy, he moved to Prineville with his wife and young son, Yaughn. There he spent some time working in a department store and for the Oregon State Police. In1975 he divorced and moved back to the Salem area where he took a job at the Oregon State Penitentiary. He met his second wife and moved to North Carolina where he was employed with the National Climate Center as a weather records clerk under NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmosphere Administration). In 1983 Jess divorced for the second time and his son, joined him in North Carolina. He spoke often of their adventures as a father son duo and how he shared his love for nature and the outdoors with Yaughn. They soon returned to Jess’s beloved birthplace in the Willamette Valley and Jess set his sights on a college degree. He attended Linn Benton Community College for two years, then transferred to Western Oregon University in pursuit of an Elementary Education Degree. This is where he met the love of his life, Pam Deardorff and married her and her two sons Sean and Adam. Pam and Jess just celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary in December 2019. In 1990, Pam and Jess had another son, Joseph. Jess was regularly involved in his sons’ scholastic and athletic endeavors. He was very proud of the men that all of his sons became. After working as a teacher at Chemawa Indian School, he began a group worker position at Marion County Juvenile Matrix Program where he stayed for 20 years until he retired in 2013. Jess was especially proud of his work here and all the kids whose lives were improved by his actions. Jess loved fishing, hunting, camping and spending time with his family. He also had a passion for taking old items and tinkering with them to give them new life. Jess was a kind and caring person. He loved black Labrador retrievers, the OSU Beavers, the 49ers and above all, his family. He believed all people are basically good and that honor, courage and virtue mean everything. He was a role model for these tenets and was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. Jess will be missed terribly. Jess is preceded in death by his mother Shirley and father Don. Jess is survived by his wife Pam; his sons, Yaughn, Adam, Sean and Joseph; his grandchildren Danyele, Micah and Loxley; his sisters, Molly, Linda, Marcie and Pushpa and 5 nephews and 3 nieces. A celebration of life is being planned for Jess on April 24, 2020. Donations can be made to: Special Olympics Oregon 419 NE 10th Ave. Portland, OR 97232 or online at https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/SpecialOlympicsOregon/donate.html Or the Oregon Heart Association at https://www.heart.org/en/get-involved/ways-to-give