Clarence Leroy Campbell 1938 - 2024

Every good soul deserves to be remembered. Everyone's life is worth celebrating. Thus, obituaries are worth writing. It's why we write them, and why we like to read them.

These are some of the facts about Clarence Campbell. They don't define him, but they describe the beginning and the end of his life.

Clarence Leroy Campbell, 85, of Dundee, Oregon, peacefully passed away of heart failure on August 15, 2024.

He is survived by his wife, Shirlee; his son, Scott Campbell; his stepchildren, Debbie Larson, Julieanne Decker, and Michael Taal. He also enjoyed four step-grandchildren, Justin Taal, Katelynn Taal, Whitney Decker, and Courtney Decker.

He was born October 17, 1938,  in La Grande, Oregon, the third child and only son of Clarence Monroe Campbell and Frances (nee Peck) Campbell. He was preceded in death by his parents; his two sisters, Viola and Norm Jean; as well as his brothers in-law, Jerry and Robert.

He attended high school in La Grande, Oregon, graduating in 1957. He also joined the National Guard at the age of 16, and spent three years with them. He tried one year of college but decided it wasn't for him, and then spent about a year working for Cascade Mills in La Grande. But he soon decided if he was going to make something of his life, he would probably do better in the military, so he signed up with the U.S. Army. He subsequently spent two years in Germany, leaving in 1963 with an education as a radiology tech. He often laughed about it, saying he checked the roster and found the longest school they had and that happened to be radiology, about which he knew nothing. It worked out for him very well, as he spent the next 20-some years practicing his craft at a hospital in North Bend, Oregon, a short time in The Dalles, Oregon, and finally ending at Emanuel (now Legacy Emanuel) Hospital in Portland serving on the trauma team until 1984. He left Emanuel to begin attending seminars on real estate, mainly to find out if he had gotten the runaround on the first house he bought on Mississippi Ave. in Portland. He said he wasn't taken advantage of after all, but he did find he loved the whole real estate thing, so he went on to become certified, not only in real estate, but he also became a broker and began acquiring property.. Somehow along the way, he acquired a license to be an appraiser.  Hearing that the Clackamas County assessor's office was hiring, he almost accidentally got the job and went on to spend about 27 years there, loving his job and the ability to drive around all day away from the office.

He had two failed marriages in his younger years, and chose to stay single for almost 17 years, until he met his current wife, Shirlee. He met her through his first cousin, Mary Jo, in La Grande, at her sister's wedding. After a whirlwind courtship with Shirlee, he married her at Sellwood Chapel in July of 2002. This time he was married for 22 years, until his death.

He loved politics, Rush Limbaugh, sweets in general, but pies especially, and the wife who baked them for him. But most of all, he loved being at home, where he was happiest. His behavior was normally very low key, but at the same time he had strong principles and strong opinions, firmly standing behind them. What we know about him is that he was kind, affable, and likeable. He had a surprising sense of humor, charming his nurses from hospice almost right to the very end. But what people don't know about him is that he had depths rarely shared with others.

At the end, he died as he had lived: very quietly, with little fanfare, but somehow leaving a definite impression on others he loved.