Lasting Legacies

From an iconic statesman to a beloved publican, the year’s lost shaped the city.

By Zach Dundas and Meghan Ratliffe

THIS YEAR drew the final curtain on some Oregon legends. In particular, the August death of Senator Mark Hatfield recalled the nearly extinct breed of liberal Republican lions that defined our politics for decades. As governor and senator, Hatfield opposed the Vietnam War, battled Nixon, and brought home pork by the ton. The state’s current politicos rallied to the Baptist pacifist’s memorial—and seldom looked punier by comparison. Likewise, the losses of Harold Schnitzer (April), a self-made real-estate baron and philanthropic titan, and Betty Roberts (June), the first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court, marked the passing of pioneering eras. On a darker note, Elizabeth Dunham, the sex-abuse victim of former mayor and governor Neil Goldschmidt, died in January, unleashing more sordid details of the long-hidden scandal but also closing an anguished chapter of Portland’s secret history.

Meanwhile, others who changed Portland in lesser-known but powerfully soulful ways also made their exits this year. A parting toast for:

Illustration: Chris Cech

Don Younger (January) 

The grizzled owner of SE 
Belmont Street’s Horse Brass Pub helped stoke Portland’s 
now-prodigious appetite 
for good beer.

Illustration: Chris Cech

Joan Shipley (September)
From the Museum of Contemporary Craft to the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, the culture-scene benefactress seeded the art scene with money, sweat equity, and spirit.

Illustration: Chris Cech

Mary Healy Clark (June)
The philanthropist and arts advocate served on the 
Portland Art Museum’s board for 16 years.

Illustration: Chris Cech

John Helmer (September)
Famed for his New Yorker beret ads, this old-school haberdasher defined dapper well before the current 
crop of retro-suspender-wearing dudes.

Illustration: Chris Cech

William “Robbie” Robinson
(May) One of Portland’s 
greenest-ever thumbs, the Parks Bureau garden chief helped establish the Japanese Garden.

Illustration: Chris Cech

Steve Apotheker (June)
The pioneering recycling expert and “soft bulldog” advocate pushed Portland to curb its landfill habit.

Illustration: Chris Cech

John Zupan (August)
The “grocery store maverick” founded local mini-chain Zupan’s—and helped pave the way for shelves stocked with high-quality, organic foods.

Illustration: Chris Cech

Greg Baldwin (June)
An architect and urban designer quietly helped reshape Portland, from Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the River District to the MAX lines and Director Park.

Illustration: Chris Cech

E. Kimbark MacColl (August)
The historian’s wry, doorstop-size treatises on Portland’s past remain mandatory reading for understanding the mossy pilings beneath the city we now know.

Illustration: Chris Cech

Steve Jobs (October) 
He wasn’t from Portland, but his days as a wandering Reed dropout helped forge the Apple chief’s sensibilities.