Obituary of Richard Calvin Strong

Richard Calvin Strong died in his sleep on October 23, 2021 at his home in Tigard, Oregon. He was 59. 

Richard was born in Berkeley, CA on June 15, 1962 to Juliana Ray Strong and Albert Charles Strong, Presbyterian missionaries. Within months, he accompanied his family including four older sisters upon their return to Ethiopia. He attended Good Shepherd School in Addis Ababa through fourth grade. 

In 1972 the family moved back to the US. He attended elementary school in Sanger, CA and junior high and high school in Oregon, graduating from Dallas High School in 1980. Richard attended Oregon State University, earning a BS in computer engineering in 1985 after an internship with IBM in San Jose.

Richard began his career working as a QA test engineer with Mentor Graphics. He was instrumental in porting First Tech Federal Credit Union’s pioneering PC-based home banking to a real-time UNIX platform. He worked for other high tech firms, managing product development. Richard also created several websites to promote tourism in Oregon. More recently Richard worked in event security for major sporting events and concerts.

Richard met his wife Lori at OSU. They had three children: Kenzie and twins Kevin and Kyle. During his seven years as stay-at-home dad, he changed a lot of diapers, cooked healthy meals, learned and taught baby sign language and made sure his kids had plenty of activities and adventures. He was a Cub Scout leader and nature lover. 

Richard was always a loyal OSU Beaver fan. He loved music, sports, cooking, photography, biking, hiking, travel, fishing, dogs, cats, poetry, reading and inspirational quotes. Richard took special delight in any occasion that involved costumes, reveling in Halloween festivities or running in Portland’s annual Starlight Parade with his boys dressed in a way sure to inspire smiles. He loved meeting people and being active outdoors.

Richard is survived by his children, his former wife, sisters (Christine, Carolyn, Catherine and Claire), nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his parents.

Please sign the guestbook or post a Tribute in memory of Richard. We invite you to a Celebration of Life on March 13th.