Steve Harloff 1952 - 2026

The Harloff family sadly announces the passing of a wonderful husband, father, brother, and friend. Steven Douglas Harloff, 74, slipped from our world on July 5, 2026, surrounded and held by his family in his final moments. His death came quickly and unexpectedly from sepsis, following a battle with lymphoma of the spleen.

The youngest of three siblings, Steve was born in Toledo, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University with a master’s degree in American Studies. His master’s thesis was “Bob Dylan and the Culture of the 1960s” — starting a lifelong appreciation for the works of Dylan.

He relocated to Oregon in 1976, “the season the Trail Blazers won the championship.” His interest in moving west was spurred by long summer road trips with his parents, including an influential visit to Haight-Ashbury during the ‘67 Summer of Love.

Longtime friends remember Steve as Caribou: the Grand Poobah for the Washington County Outdoor School program in the early ‘80s. He also ran Youth Conservation Corps programs in Montana, Washington, and Oregon, sparking a lifelong love for the outdoors and for educating young people. He obtained his teaching certificate from Lewis & Clark College, and went on to teach sophomore English at Forest Grove High School until he retired in 2016. Students will remember his fondness for teaching To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and Our Town.

Subsequent trips back to Ohio in the early ‘80s to visit his parents and friends allowed him to meet Jane, who lived next door to her brother, Steve’s friend since age 12. Steve and Jane were married in 1991, and raised two wonderful children together, Leanne and Jackson. In 1996, the Harloff family settled onto their piece of paradise on Puddy Gulch Road in Yamhill.

Music was a lifelong passion of Steve’s. He loved attending concerts and live music performances, and wrote record and concert reviews for newspapers during and after college. He recalled among his most memorable shows seeing Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, John Lennon and (many times) The Grateful Dead. Steve played guitar and bass in the band Woodputty, which released three CDs. He constantly sought out new artists and was forever introducing his family and friends to the music that spoke to him.

Steve was ever-engaged in community activities during his life: from serving on Metro’s Budget Committee while living in Washington County, to being a member of the Yamhill County Parks Advisory Board, the Yamhill Downtown Association, the ASPIRE program, and his most-favored cause, the Friends of the Yamhelas Westsider Trail. He was passionate and outspoken about these appointments, and never hesitated to stir up a hornet’s nest when he felt it was needed!

Steve fancied himself as a disc golfer, but his talents actually lay in his ability to groom the course on Puddy Gulch. Hours were spent on the riding mower or behind a weed whacker, so that visiting golfers would not have to battle the brush to retrieve a disc.

Friends and family will remember him as a kind and gentle man, quick with a big smile and one who loved to tell a story; well-read and always seeking knowledge to inform himself and others; playful and relaxed. To his kids, he was a fun Dad — always teasing and entertaining. He will be missed forever by his wife, Jane; children, Leanne (Nick) Lindsey, and Jackson (Tatum) Harloff-Frey; his two cats; the entire Harms and Harloff clans; and countless friends.

A celebration of Steve will be planned soon. Donations in his memory can be made to two of his favorite causes: Outdoor Education Adventures in McMinnville, OR (Outdooredadventures.com), and the Friends of the Yamhelas Westsider Trail (Yamtrail.com).