Alyce Joy Emerson

Alyce Joy Emerson of Portland, Oregon passed away at the age of 85 on Thursday, September 12, 2019.

A graveside service will be held at Skyline Memorial Gardens 4104 NW Skyline Blvd. Portland Or 97229 at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 28th. A celebration of Life will follow the funeral service at 12:00 pm at 21310 NW Kenai Ct. Portland Or 97229. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/donate.

Alyce Joy was born in Lake Stevens, Washington to Ansel and Helen Hulbert on June 26, 1934. Alyce had one sibling; a sister Adriel who was two years older. Ansel and Helen divorced when Alyce and Adriel were very young. In 1939, Helen married Ralph Masten, and Alyce and Adriel took the Masten name. Alyce Joy Masten grew up in the Portland area. Although they attended the same schools together for many years, Alyce did not meet her future husband, Gene, until their senior year at Roosevelt High School when Gene worked with Alyce’s mother. A year after they met, they would marry at the age of 19, and enjoy more than 60+ years together until Gene’s passing in October 2016.

After Alyce and Gene married, Alyce worked as a telephone operator until the birth of their first child, Susan. Alyce became a doting stay at home mother and went on to have 3 more children; Gayl, Jayn, and George. In 1974, the family moved to Michigan for Gene’s work and lived there for 4 years before returning to Oregon and moving into their home in Oak Hills. Alyce was thrilled to be back in Oregon! She worked for many years at Plantronics as a trainer before retiring in the 1990s. After retirement, Alyce became an English tutor in her home and formed many lasting relationships with her Japanese students. She enjoyed showing off photos of her students and their families, and the many loving trinkets her students would give her to her family and friends.

Alyce and Gene loved dogs! Not just their own dogs, but every dog in their neighborhood. They could frequently be found standing in their driveway and greeting the neighborhood pups as they walked by with their owners, usually calling them by name. Every so often, they’d even introduced their own family members to the dogs. The Emerson children used to joke that they had been replaced by the dogs after they grew up and moved out. Alyce and Gene could always be found at their adult children’s sporting events cheering them on. Naturally, they’d have a dog with them, and everyone knew the “Emerson kids” had their own cheerleaders. Alyce enjoyed puzzles; Jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, Sudoku puzzles, you name it she loved the challenge. She also enjoyed playing Bingo after she moved into The Ackerly retirement community after Genes passing and became quite well known amongst her new neighbors there.

Alyce Joy Emerson lived a long, fulfilling life. She is survived by her children; Susan (Lee), Gayl (Mark), Jayn (Don) & George (Denise). Alyce is also survived by 10 grandchildren (Denise, Lisa, Mike, Jacky, Dan, Chris, Jacob, Andria, Kenna & Reed) and 17 great-grandchildren!