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Memorial for Richard Cettel
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Born in Norwood, Ohio on Jun. 9, 1920
Departed on Jul. 14, 2010 and resided in Portland, OR.
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| Service: |
Monday, Jul. 26, 2010
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| Family Gathering: |
Monday, Jul. 26, 2010
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| Cemetery: |
Willamette National Cemetery
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Please click on the links above for locations, times, maps, and directions.
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Richard Cettel was born and raised in Norwood, Ohio. His one passion growing up was baseball, which he enjoyed throughout his life. He was a varsity pitcher for Norwood High School and his specialty was the knuckleball. In 1942, after graduating from Norwood High School, he joined the U.S. Navy. He was stationed in Pasco, Wash., and Dutch Harbor, Alaska. While in Pasco, Dick traveled through Oregon and Washington hitching rides with State Patrol officers to get from one place to the other. During these trips he fell in love with the Northwest. When he was discharged from the Navy in 1945, Dick returned home to look for work.
In May of 1946 he was hired by Remington Rand as a purchasing agent and moved to Des Moines, Iowa. It was in Des Moines that Dick met his future wife, Roberta "Bobby" Gentry. They were married April 22, 1947. In the fall of 1948 Dick persuaded Bobby to move to Portland and take a chance in life! Leaving his job and the Midwest, they loaded up their two-door Ford and made the long trip, stopping at Yellowstone and then continued west along the old Columbia Gorge Highway into Portland. Dick was hired by Montag Furnace as a purchasing agent and they settled into an apartment on North Interstate Avenue and Skidmore Street in Portland.
In the spring of 1949 Bobby and Dick found a "log cabin in the woods" that would be the home and love of their life from that day forward. They loved the woods, slowly starting to carve out the flower beds and vegetable gardens that would bring them joy for the next 60 years. Mom's flower beds and Dad's vegetable garden were fantastic. We are still eating the dill pickles, jams, and jellies from those harvests. With the birth of their two sons and two daughters, Dick added four bedrooms onto the "log cabin." He was always working on our home or some outdoor project. He could do or fix anything. From 1960 to 1970, he served his community well while on the Lynch school board and Gresham School District board. From 1964 to 1965 he was president of the Multnomah County School Board Association, from 1968 to 1971 he was first vice president of the Oregon State School Board Association, and was named president in 1971.
Dick never lost sight of his experience in World War II and that many men and women did not come home. He considered it his continuing duty throughout his life to serve his country and community the way he did. To keep his love of baseball alive, he became involved with Little League baseball when his youngest son, John, was old enough to play. Dick coached the teams, umpired the games and was involved with the planning and fiscal operations of the league. In the late 1960s he went to work for the Gresham School District (later became the Centennial School District) as director of transportation and maintenance. Dick officially retired from Centennial in 1985, but continued working athletic events at the school for the next 20 years. He loved Centennial High School sports, especially baseball. If he wasn't running the scoreboard he was watching a ball game whenever he could. He ran the scoreboard for over 1, 000 different sporting events. Dick was recognized for these selfless hours of service on May 31, 2007, when he was inducted into the Centennial High School Hall of Fame. This was personally one of Dick's greatest days.
After Bobby's death in 2007 he continued to enjoy his wooded property and garden, with fires in the fireplace to keep his log cabin warm and his dog, Dieder, at his side. He enjoyed getting together with his many friends from Centennial High School for their regular breakfast meetings. He always had a good, clean joke to tell and loved to tell stories. We know Mom and Dad are back together in their cabin in the woods harvesting vegetables, gardening and enjoying their eternal life together. We will miss them.
Dick is survived by his children and their spouses, Richard and Calista Cettel, Pamela and Doug Anderson, La urie and Jim Jorgensen, and John and Jean Cettel; 14 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
He will be buried in Willamette National Cemetery with Bobby by his side. The service is at 1:30 p.m. Monday, July 26, 2010. There will be a reception for family and friends after the ceremony at Stanford's restaurant on Sunnyside Road. In lieu of flowers, please send remembrances to Centennial High School Athletics Department, c/o Dick Cettel Memorial, 3505 S.E. 182nd Ave., Gresham, OR 97030-5097, 503-762-6180.
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