Donald Micken

Donald Micken A Masonic funeral service for Donald Hugh Micken, age 78, who died on October 11, 2014 with complications from lung cancer, will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 2:00 PM in the Masonic Lodge at 2777 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Eugene, OR. All are welcome. Donald Hugh Micken was a vital man who was passionate about architecture, his family, Masonry, and all animals. He was an architect, a builder, and a carpenter, and at various times, he painted, sculpted, and was a potter. He built the first house on a truck in Eugene. It was beautiful, like a ship, everything carefully and neatly fitted. He traveled in it until the brakes failed and he crashed in a boulder field to avoid oncoming traffic as he was coming down Mullen Pass in ID. Both he and his dog Garth walked away, but he refused to rebuild because he was convinced that it couldn't be made safe. He loved beautiful cars and clothes and women, good chocolate and strong coffee. He looked good in his clothes and loved color. He was recognizable for his ties and hats, and amassed an enviable collection. He discovered Hawaiian shirts on a trip to the Islands and immediately began to collect and wear them. Donald Hugh Micken was born on October 31, 1935 in Great Falls, MT to Robert Lawrence and Juanita Ewing Micken. His fraternal twin brother, Darrell James, was born 20 minutes later. The twins joined their brother, Ewing Martin, who was 18 months older. He spent the early years in Cutbank, MT, where dinosaur bones and other fossils could be found on the prairie. When the twins were 10, the family moved outside Bigfork MT on Flathead Lake and they owned a gas station, store, and cabin camps. Don spent his college years at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT and was on the debate team, whose members wisely chose the club for its generous food allowance when travelling. He spent summers working in the oil fields. He became a journeyman carpenter in 1960 for Local No. 911 in Kalispell, MT. In 1961, he graduated from MSU with a Bachelor of Architecture. He worked as a carpenter or a draftsman in CA, NV, MT, WY, and OR. From 1965-1968, he worked for Keeble & Rhoda Architects in Monterey CA and he was proud of his role as an architect on the Monterey Peninsula Junior College. He became a licensed architect in CA in 1967 and in OR in 1969, when he moved to Eugene and opened his own office. He practiced architecture in this community for 45 years. In 1974, he founded and was the first Executive Director of the Willamette Community Design Center, a public service architecture office. In 1975, he developed a drafting curriculum for architectural technology at Lane Community College and began teaching drafting, structures, and design. In 1982, he earned a MA and in 1987, he earned a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Oregon, specializing in Research and Measurement, and he applied what he learned to teaching. Don began volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul in the summer of 1992. When he retired from teaching in 1997, he became the staff architect, designing low cost and accessible housing, working with the CEO, Terry McDonald. Don often said that low-cost housing didn't need to be ugly, and his designs are attractive as well as functional. His buildings for St. Vincent de Paul may be seen in Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, and Florence. Don was a lifelong Mason. He joined Masonic Lodge No. 68 in Belgrade, MT in 1960, was a life member in Masonic Lodge No. 150 at Bigfork, MT, where his father was a life member, and since 2004, he was active in Masonic Lodge No. 11 in Eugene, where he was the Lodge historian and received the Hiram award for exemplary service. He was active in the academic community of LCC, as a member of the Governance Task Force and president of LCCEA, the faculty union at LCC, from 1991-1994. He was also active in the wider community and served on a number of committees and task forces. In the early 1970s, he was the Executive Director of the Saturday Market. Most recently, he was a member of the Masonic Cemetery Board of Directors until he resigned in August due to ill health. Throughout his life, he rescued, fed, paid for veterinary services, and found homes for homeless animals. His wife was surprised a few years ago to learn that there was an emergency supply of cat food in her car. At the time of his death, he had three dogs and four cats, all rescued and beloved. He was a member of the local PD (Parkinson's Disease) group. His family wishes to thank his physicians, Bonita Pollack and Sara Batya, the caregivers from New Horizons, and Dr. Bruce Harrow and the nursing staff with Cascade Home Health and Hospice for their gentle care. He was preceded in death by his parents and by his older brother, Ewing Micken. He was married from 1961 to 1963 to Helen Christine Reynolds. He is survived by his wife, Mary Grace Perry, whom he married on December 19, 1975, and by their daughter, Angie E. Micken. He is also survived by his twin brother, Darrell (Lee) Micken, his cousins Lori Micken and Cheryl (Bill) Lowe, and many nieces and nephews. His ashes will be buried in the family plot in a private ceremony at the Conrad Cemetery in Kalispell, MT next summer. Contributions in his memory may be made to the charity of your choice . - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/registerguard/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=172895792#sthash.hGEQ8Nll.dpuf