Gregory Painter

Gregory Painter, 75, passed away peacefully at his home in Gresham, Oregon on October 20, 2021, following a nearly three-year battle with leukemia. Greg was born in New York in 1946 to Harold and Joyce Painter. In 1964, he graduated from Toledo High School in Toledo, Oregon. He then went on to the Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University), where he played varsity tennis and basketball while earning his bachelor’s degree in education in 1968. He later earned his master’s degree in geology from Portland State University while working at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Greg married Rita Havely in 1976 and they raised three children together.

Greg worked for 32 years in the Gresham-Barlow School District, first as a middle school science teacher and later as an administrator. He also served as principal for one year in the Battle Ground School District. During his teaching years, Greg organized science trips with students to explore Steens Mountain, the Olympic Peninsula, the Wallowa Mountains, and the Oregon Dunes to study the flora, fauna, and geology of those areas. He had a wonderful sense of humor, expressed most memorably at work through his wild neckties and colorful “happy pants.” Following retirement, Greg volunteered with Meals on Wheels and at the Vista House in the Columbia River Gorge, and became an enthusiastic home brewer.

Family came first for Greg, who was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He coached his children’s soccer teams, participated in scout outings, and could frequently be found playing Barbie or Lego on the floor with his six young grandchildren, who were the apples of his eye. Having grown up on the Oregon and Washington coasts, Greg had a special fondness for trips to the beach – which always included ice cream. He loved the outdoors and visited numerous National Parks during summer road trips with his family. Greg enjoyed traveling at home and abroad because it meant meeting new people and experiencing different places and cultures. His children called him “Mr. Friendly” because he made a special point to stay in touch with those he got to know along the way and often reconnected with them later.

Greg is survived by his wife, Rita Painter; three children, Geoff Painter (Julia), Erin DeSemple (Adam), and Lindsay Tarvin (Jacob); sister, Chris Larson (Mark); and six grandchildren (Ellery, Henry, Peyton, Sonja, Annika, and Jameson). Greg’s family would like to express special appreciation to all of the health care providers at the Providence Cancer Institute who cared for him over the past three years.

A celebration of Greg’s life will be held in the spring. Interment will be at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Gresham, Oregon. Contributions may be made as donations in Greg’s name to Meals on Wheels, Friends of Vista House, or Snow Cap Community Charities. Arrangements have been entrusted to Bateman Carroll Funeral Home, Gresham, Oregon.