Obituary of Priscilla Ann Sturges

Priscilla Ann Sturges (née Fax; formerly Lewis) passed away on the morning of Friday, October 22, 2021, at home in Newberg, Oregon. She is survived by her husband Paul D. Sturges; her children Jill, Jack, Peter, and Joy; her stepchildren Staci, Dan, and Chris; her grandchildren Malia, Grayson, Jamesmichael, Joyelaine, Johnmartin, Junelizabeth, Alex, Max, Henry, Lauren, and Harris; and by her great-grandchildren Audrina and Zara.

Born 1937 to John and Ruby Fax of Milwaukie, Oregon, Priscilla was a tall, energetic, redhead with flashing green eyes, who sang in a clear soprano and ran like the wind. As a teen she raised bantam chickens, attended Job’s Daughters, and produced high school sock hops. Her younger brother, J. Nicholas, and her youngest sister, Elizabeth, recalled that their history buff father remembered Priscilla’s birthday only after D-Day fell on June 6.

Winning honors as a student and Chi Omega at Willamette University, Priscilla went on to graduate from Lewis & Clark College, whence she earned a teaching certificate and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. She taught her first courses at Franklin and Grant high schools.

Priscilla had four children during her first marriage of ten years’ duration. Raising them on her own was no easy charge, but Priscilla leaned into it with music lessons, league sports, summer camps, martial arts, choir, swimming, and first aid. She became a room mother, Cub Scout den mother, Camp Fire leader, and president of the Chapman School PTA.

However, her daughters and sons more vividly recall Priscilla dipping tie-dye shirts out of boiling water with her bare hands, capturing a rabid bat with a tennis racket and pink hatbox, and the rifle-crack snap of her fingers in the vicinity of any juvenile transgressor.

For nearly half a century, Priscilla maintained a little cedar cabin near the coast. A haven for family and friends, it launched shellfishing adventures, shy teenage romances, and countless exuberant doggy laps up and down Gearhart’s windy beaches.

She took some fast laps, too. Sneaking onto the old Washington High track at night in Wranglers and sneakers, Priscilla outran her kids until well into her 40s. She sometimes fell behind for a few laps, but crushed ‘em in the second mile.

She was long a tithing member of First Presbyterian Church, where her sons and daughters sang in the choir and enjoyed Menucha family camp. Supporting her church’s peace ministry, Priscilla sponsored a displaced Cambodian family and took in Vietnamese war refugees, producing happy memories of colorful pickled vegetables and the eye-burning joy of pepper-fried rice. She foster-parented at-risk children, and hosted countless overnight visits from her kids’ friends.

Priscilla was an expert tole painter, a fairly good cook and a horrid poet, gleefully penning holiday letters (with, it must be said, expert penmanship) in unapologetic doggerel.

For several years, Priscilla managed Quintana Galleries in the Pearl District, becoming fast friends with cast members of Darcelle XV & Co. Her name appears on the China Gate.

In 1982, she joyfully married her original sweetheart. Once Priscilla had allowed as how she might trust him enough to ride pillion on his motorcycle, Paul agreed to stop parking it in the master bedroom. They shared symphony and opera memberships, camped around the Pacific NW, raised their blended family, and remained devoted to each other unto her final breath.

The arc of Priscilla’s life traces a history of steadfast caring. Whether serving on animal rescue boards or as a Certified Nursing Assistant, she revealed her colors every day. Aiding the powerless was perpetually vital to Priscilla’s sense of justice, and of self. Her light, if not her poetry, will be missed by many.

Priscilla’s ashes will be laid to rest at The Dalles in a private family ceremony. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donating to an agency of care that speaks to your heart.