Jill Christina Irvine

Irvine, Dr. Jill Christina, 56, 04/16/1954 - 11/11/2010 Jill C. Remter was born April 16, 1954, in Detroit, Mich., to Faith and Donald Remter. She spent a happy childhood with her parents and younger sister, Julie, in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., and graduated from Grosse Pointe North High School in 1972. She attended the University of Michigan and graduated from the School of Nursing in 1976. While at UM, she met her future husband, Dr. Gregory Irvine, and they married in Detroit in August 1977. Her love of medicine led her to enter the UM Medical School where she graduated with a Doctor of Medicine in 1982. She completed a residency in anesthesiology at the University of Michigan Medical Center in 1985, at which time she was recruited to start the department of anesthesiology at the Portland unit of Shriners Hospital for Children. Jill moved to Portland with her husband, who began as an orthopedic surgeon at Portland Orthopedic Clinic. Jill loved her work at the Shriners Hospital as a pediatric anesthesiologist, and remained on the staff of the hospital until the beginning of her illness in May 2009. She provided loving care for countless children at Shriners Hospital for the many years that she was there. Jill was the mother of two wonderful daughters, Christina and Julie, both of whom were raised in Lake Oswego. They were the joy of her life, and made her justifiably very proud every day. Christy is currently a doctorate student in clinical psychology at the University of Connecticut, and Julie is a senior at Whitman College in Walla Walla. Both of her daughters inherited not only their mother's beauty inside and out, but her drive for excellence and love of life. They will miss her greatly, but are dedicated to honoring her memory by serving God and mankind in the same selfless way that Jill did. Jill had an immediate love for her home in Oregon and joyfully embraced all that the area had to offer. She was an enthusiastic tennis player and made many wonderful friends on the tennis court. She enjoyed many outdoor pursuits-hiking, and Nordic skiing the trails of the Cascade Mountains. She loved the water and spent many hours on the lakes and rivers of the Pacific Northwest. Her incredible love of animals led to the ownership of many dogs in her life, all of whom she spoiled unashamedly. She and her husband enjoyed travel, and she recently fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting her ancestral home of Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia. Jill and her husband recently joined Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Wilsonville. A lifelong Lutheran, Jill loved God with all her heart. Her family is comforted by the knowledge that she is wrapped in the warm, loving arms of her Father in paradise. Jill is survived by her daughters, Christy and Julie; husband, Greg; parents, Faith and Donald Remter of West Linn; and her sister and brother-in-law, Julie and Raymond Fortin of Atlanta, and their two sons, Danny and Charlie. Her loving presence in her family will be missed every day. The memory of her dry, playful sense of humor and her quiet, confident personality will surely bring a smile as she is remembered. Jill was diagnosed with glioblastoma May 4, 2009, and, over the past 18 months waged a courageous battle against her disease with the help of many wonderful doctors and nurses. She embodied the creed that courage is not the absence of fear, but experiencing fear and facing it squarely, doing what must be done. To the end, she never lost her quiet grace or her love of life. Jill's family will hold a private memorial and celebration of her life at Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Wilsonville. There will be a public memorial service at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010, in the auditorium of Portland Shriners Hospital for Children. All who knew and loved Jill are invited to attend and to celebrate a life well-lived. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jill's name may be made to the Chris Elliott Fund for glioblastoma research in Seattle; or to the Jill C. Irvine, M.D. fund at Shriners Hospital for Children, Portland Unit; or to the Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Wilsonville.