Donald "Don" VanDyke, 81, of the Forest Grove community passed away March 4, 2014 at his home.

Recitation of the Holy Rosary will take place Saturday, March 15, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at Visitation Catholic Church in Verboort, OR

Memorial Mass will be held Saturday, March 15, 2014 at 11:00a.m. at Visitaion Catholic Church in Verboort, OR

Graveside service will follow the Memorial Mass at Visitation Catholic Cemetery

Don was born at his grandparents’ Forest Grove farm house, the 3rd child of Joe and Marge Van Dyke. He was preceded by sister Pat and twin brother Ron. To follow would come brother Merle and sister Carol. The 5 Van Dyke children had many adventures, got into lots of mischief (particularly the 3 boys) but still were well loved. Don was raised on the family farm right next door to his grandparents. He attended Visitation Catholic School and then went on to Forest Grove High School where he was Senior Class President and a cheerleader, along with brother Ron. He spent almost 2 years at The University of Portland and then decided he’d had enough school so enlisted in the Air Force. Eventually, he was stationed at McCord AFB in Tacoma. While there he met his future wife, Joanne. They were married at Holy Family Catholic Church in Kirkland, WA in 1955. Don and Joanne’s first home was in Anchorage, Alaska where Don was stationed at Elmendorf AFB. Son Jeff was born there in 1956. After returning to the States, Don and Joanne moved to Kirkland, where Don received an honorable discharge from the Air Force and began work at Boeing. Son Jay was born in Kirkland. After several years in Washington, Don and Joanne decided they’d really like to live in Oregon so they moved home to Forest Grove. Don got a job at Tektronix and 3 more children were born; Jennifer, Jacqueline and Joel. Don took an early retirement from Tektronix in the 1980’s and then dabbled in many things – among them farming and antique restoration. He loved to fish and in later years, reading was a passion, but only non-fiction. He read for knowledge. He was also an excellent wood-worker, building furniture and kitchen cabinets for his own home as well as for several others. He took great enjoyment from harvesting a huge walnut crop each year, supplying family and friends with as many as they wanted.

Don was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He was completely unselfish and was always available to help wherever he might be needed. Don had an exceptional ability to analyze and resolve most common homeowner issues. For many years, he was on-call to the Sisters when they had a problem at the Convent. He never hesitated to come to the aid of anyone who needed his assistance. So many people loved Don because of his giving heart.

He leaves behind wife Joanne; Children Jeff, Jay, Jennifer, Jacqueline and Joel and Grandchildren, Jake, Alycia, Patrick, Andrew, Aaron, Adam, Anna, Molly and Emma. He was preceded in death by his sister Carol and his granddaughter, Rachael.