OBITUARY

Terry Dean Saylor

T. Saylor

Our beloved husband, loving father, devoted “papa”, brother and dear friend Terry Dean Saylor, passed away at the age of 65 on Thursday April 16, 2020. He was born on Sept. 28, 1954 in Oregon City. Terry leaves behind his wife Linda, three children Brandon, Brandy, and Christopher along with three grandsons Nico, Colby and Eivin. Siblings include Cheri Effinger, Sandi Olsen, Tina Anderson, Cathy Hoffee and Larry (Clark) Saylor.

Terry grew up in Oregon City, Ore. where he attended school, meeting life-long friends Max Culbertson, Dan Olson, Russ Hoffman and Brad Germeroth. In 1972, Terry, Dan and Brad enlisted in the Navy together on the “Buddy System.” They were first stationed on tug boats in San Diego. Terry was later in service on the USS Coral Sea and Bainbridge Aircraft Carrier. He was stationed in the Philippines but traveled to Japan, Manila and Hong Kong.

He met Linda in Canby, Ore. in 1987. They started their life together in North Salem and eventually settled in Keizer where all of the kids went to elementary, middle school and all graduated from McNary High School. 

Terry worked for SR Smith LLC in Canby doing many jobs. He recently celebrated 33 years with them. He enjoyed running their vacuum former and was helping on getting the equipment ready to move to Arizona. He had worked with engineers on new products and when they discovered his skill in woodworking, he built displays for marketing and trade shows.

He was a hero in many ways. He served his country and was very proud of it. He saved two people by giving life-saving CPR. The first was a fellow employee at SR Smith. The second was a resident of Keizer. Terry was presented the Bob Wickman Life Saving Award in a ceremony at the Keizer Fire Station that year. He also saved his wife, by taking her to the ER (she wanted to go home) only to discover she was having a heart attack. He also was instrumental in getting another friend, Moe to the hospital and later found out she had suffered a heart attack. She lovingly nicknamed him “Pastor” Terry. He is a hero to so many.

Terry was an avid supporter of Veteran and 2nd Amendment Rights. He and Linda rode in the Veteran’s 1st gathering to Olympia, Wash., last year and planned to do it again this year. He enjoyed riding his pearl-white Harley wherever he could. He wasn’t much of a group rider, but started to ride in rallies for the causes that he felt were important. Riding had also become a family event.

The outdoors was his comfort zone and the way that he got in touch with his Higher Power. He hiked, camped, fished, hunted (camping with a gun), kayaked, and took pictures of nature. He was an amazing photographer. It was hard to find pictures of him as he was almost always had a camera in his hand or was behind the camera. He loved to play with close up, different lighting, different angles and produced some of the most beautiful pictures. He continued to amaze others by posting a sample of his pictures on Facebook.

His special talent was woodworking. He built awesome furniture (tables, bookcases, and clocks), pens (wood turned), bowls and vases (turned on the lathe). He built memory boxes for friends and his grandsons. He was a perfectionist when it came to working with wood of any kind. His family will enjoy his treasurers for many years to come.

His family has been comforted immensely by the AA family that Terry has been a part of for over 15 years. A family that he chose and they embraced him. It has been amazing to see and hear about the people that Terry has touched along his journey. We have some really great memories and stories about his journey in sobriety.

His friends have described him as a calming, loving and ever loyal soul. He had a great sense of humor, dry with just an added touch of sarcasm. He knew how to make people laugh just with his special insights and perspective. Kids were drawn to him like a magnet. He was a devoted “papa” to his three grandsons. He loved teaching kids to kayak, he took them hiking, shooting, fishing and camping. 

A memorial service will be held at a future date to be determined. Interment will be at Willamette National Cemetery in Happy Valley, Ore. Memorial contributions may be made to Honoring Heroes, P.O. Box 515 Sublimity, OR 97385-0515