March obituaries

Honoring the lives of our friends and neighbors

Dr. Michael Sears

Dr. Michael Sheridan Sears, a resident of Willamette Heights for over 40 years, died on Jan. 29 at age 82. He was born on July 27, 1943, in Atlanta, and grew up in Missouri. He graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School in 1961, from Baker University in Baldwin, Kan., in 1965 and earned a doctorate in chiropractic from the University of Western States in Portland in 1983. He married Janet Francis, and they served in the U.S. Peace Corps in Panama in the 1960s. He married Leslie Kroft in 1983. His chiropractic practice was on Northwest Thurman Street in Northwest Portland for about 30 years. He also taught yoga and volunteered his medical services at Outside Inn for 25 years. He is survived by his wife, Leslie; daughter, Kelly; stepchildren, Josh Morrison and Shahn Hughes; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Hunt Lewis

Cicero “Hunt” Lewis III, who grew up in and lived many decades in Portland Heights, died Aug. 21, 2025, at age 83. He was born on Jan. 12, 1942, attended Ainsworth Elementary School and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1959. He attended the University of Oregon and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He served in the Army. Later, he sold insurance and founded a roofing company. He was a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club. He is survived by his wife, Penelope; daughters, Nicole Lewis and Kristin Dunn; sister, Sally Van Linge; and four grandchildren.

Patricia Bentley

Patricia Bentley, a longtime resident of Arlington Heights, died Feb. 17 at age 91. She was born on Sept. 10, 1934, in Cincinnati. She worked as a flight attendant before marrying John Bentley in 1960 and moving to Portland. They raised three children, Emily, John and Sally. She was an artist who produced paintings and quilts. She volunteered at the Oregon Historical Society. Her husband, John, died in 2022. She had six grandchildren.

Tom Prochaska

Tom Prochaska, an artist and longtime professor at Pacific Northwest College of Art, died March 3 at age 80. He was born on March 9, 1945, in Chicago, and grew up in Des Plaines, Ill. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1968 and an MFA from Pratt Institute in New York in 1970. After living on the East Coast and in Europe in the 1970s, he moved in 1980 to Portland, where he cofounded Atelier Mars studio in Southeast Portland and ran it for 33 years. He was a painter, printmaker and draftsman who used a range of materials, including kiln-formed glass. His work is in permanent collections at the Tacoma Art Museum, The Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University, Portland Art Museum, China National Academy of Fine Arts and the New York Public Library. A retrospective exhibit will be held April 1-May 2 at Froelick Gallery, 714 NW Davis St., where a celebration of life will be held April 11, 5 p.m.

Judith Holman

Judith Holman, a former Northwest District resident, died Feb. 22 at age 85. Judith Graham was born on Sept. 24, 1940, and grew up in Fruitland, Idaho. She graduated from Portland State University in 1962 with a degree in economics. She married Bob Hormel, and they settled in Southwest Portland and had two children. After a divorce, she married Mike Holman in 1986. She was a member of Mazamas and climbed major peaks around the world. They moved to Washington in 1998. She was a board member of Neighborhood House. She is survived by her husband, Mike; daughter, Melissa; son, Eric; stepdaughters, Heidi Holman and Emily Stone; brother, David Graham; sisters, Janis Dillard and Marilou Smith; and seven grandchildren.

Kenneth Scales Jr.

Kenneth Scales Jr., a 1959 Lincoln High School graduate and honored athlete at the Multnomah Athletic Club, died March 18 at age 85. He was born Sept. 22, 1940, and grew up in Portland. He graduated from Linfield College and worked as a stockbroker for many years. He excelled at many sports and received the Sportsmanship Award of the Multnomah Athletic Club, where he was a member. He married Donna Mason, and they had two children, Kasie Pranghofer and Scott Scales. He is survived by his immediate family and his brother, Michael Scales.

Roma Hartman

Roma Lue Hartman, who lived in Willamette Heights and Arlington Heights, died March 3 at age 95. Roma Nelson was born on March 14, 1930, in Ferron, Utah, and grew up in Salem. She graduated in 1952 from the University of Oregon School of Nursing, then located in Northwest Portland. She renewed her nursing license in 1974 and worked for many years in local clinics. She was a lifelong artist in watercolors, beading, tile ceramics, tailoring and furniture refinishing and was a member of the Oregon Society of Artists. In 1951, she married Stanley E. Hartman; he died in 2007. She moved to Bethany Village in 2010. She is survived by her daughters, Deborah Hartman and Donna Morrow; brother, Grant Nelson; sisters, Irene Williams and Shirley Cook; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Roger Leachman

Roger Mack Leachman, a Goose Hollow resident, died on March 19 at age 83. He was born in Stillwater, Okla., on June 3, 1942. At age 8, his family moved to Richmond, Va., where he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He graduated with an English degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967 and from the University of North Carolina with a master’s in library science in 1973. His studies were interrupted by service in the Army. He had a long career in librarianship in Virginia, Minnesota and Michigan. He moved to Portland in 2011, where he served on the board of the Goose Hollow Foothills League. He was awarded the NW Examiner Good Government Award in 2018. He is survived by his son, James; daughter, Emily; and two grandchildren. There will be a celebration of life on Sunday, May 17, 2:30 p.m., at Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Ave.

Death notices:

Barbara Covey, 96, Forest Heights resident.

Charles Gilman Davis Jr., 73, 1970 Lincoln High School graduate.

Robert E. Joseph, 90, former Hillside resident.

Stephen Reid Metz, 67, grew up in Portland Heights.

Mary Juliann Dietzler, 82, member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and Portland Garden Club.

Jack Portland, 79, artist and instructor at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Lorraine (Engbrecht) Dunezant, 95, member of St. Patrick’s Grade School class of 1944.

Dr. George Frederick Gross, 84, surgeon at Good Samaritan Medical Center.

Peter Pittock, 80, grew up in Portland Heights, 1963 graduate of Lincoln High School.