Obituary of Donald Edward Gorger

Donald Edward Gorger, 83, of Portland died peacefully on September 11, 2020 with his wife, Sandra Gorger, by his side.
Don was born, the second oldest of five children, to Leo and Ruth (Adkins) Gorger, on January 24, 1937 in Heppner, Oregon. Don grew up in Pendleton, Oregon, where he worked on his family’s wheat farm and attended St. Joseph Academy.
Don moved to Portland in 1955 to attend the College of Business at University of Portland. Part way through his studies, Don joined the U.S. Air Force where he became a Russian language specialist attached to a Military Intelligence Unit. While stationed in Darmstadt, Germany, Don traveled extensively throughout Europe.
Upon completion, he returned to University of Portland, changing his focus of study to engineering. During his studies, he met the love of his life, Sandra Tumlinson. In 1968, at the age of 31, Don was joined in marriage to Sandra. Together, they raised eight children and shared their love with nine grandchildren.
Don was a brilliant engineer. Early in his career, he worked at several engineering powerhouses, including NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Westinghouse, in Los Angeles. Upon returning to the Northwest, Don began a life-long career with Bonneville Power Administration designing and maintaining power flow control systems, which are still being used today to provide electricity throughout the nation.
Don was a devoted Catholic and his life was centered around God and family. His faith in God saw him through many challenging times and gave him great confidence and courage at the time of his death. He will always be remembered for cracking jokes, sharing interesting stories, and his quick-witted remarks. He loved to reminisce about his childhood, farming, and the time he spent in Europe. His timing and cleverness were beyond reproach. He was still making everyone laugh even as he lay in a hospital bed fighting for his life.
A skilled artist and thoughtful teacher, Don loved to share his knowledge and experience with others. He was a generous person who rarely spent money on himself, often preferring to donate to charities or to people in need. Don sacrificed many interests in order to provide for his family. He did, however, enjoy treating his family to memorable dinners and family vacations. He lit up during family meals at Der Rheinlander, enjoying Bavarian beer and food, and breaking into song as performers visited the table.
Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Sandra; children, Todd, Eric (Christine), Bret (Justine), Ryan (Sarah), Chad, Joel, Megan (Tim), and Elena (Steve); grandchildren, John Paul, Aidan, Emma, Jenna, Brody, Abigail, Greyson, Ethan, and Will. Survivors also include Robert Gorger (brother) and Patricia Forsythe (sister), Molly Gorger (sister-in-law), Fred Tumlinson (brother-in-law), Lisa Culbertson (sister-in-law), Deidra Derhalli
(sister-in-law), Brian Derhalli (brother-in-law), and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Leola Bowerman, brother Richard Gorger, brother-in-law Kenneth Forsythe and sister-in-law Nancy Gorger.
A private funeral Mass will be held at St. Rita Catholic Church followed by a private Rite of Committal service with Military Honors at Willamette National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. Rita Catholic Church.