Jack Lester Birkby

Jack Lester Birkby was born in Sidney, Iowa, May 20, 1925, and died May 6, 2018, in Arch Cape, Oregon, at the age of 93.

Staff Sgt. Birkby, while stationed at Fort Lewis, met and married Dorothy Yost, his wife of 61 years. Together they raised their three daughters in Lakewood, Washington, and later Milwaukie, Oregon. Family adventures were highlighted by skiing Mount Rainier and Mount Hood, and camping trips to national parks, Canada and the Olympic Peninsula, and enjoying the waters of Puget Sound — but once they bought their cabin in Arch Cape, all transitioned into beachcombers.

Jack lived most of his adult life in the Pacific Northwest. He was a salesman by trade and by heart, working into his 90s. He began his career working for Pennzoil, owned a Chevron service station in Tacoma, and formed J.B. Sales serving as a manufacturer’s representative for Meguiar’s polishes and various automotive product lines.

Upon retirement, Jack started Debra’s Surplus True-Value Hardware in Seaside, Oregon, with his son-in-law, Paul Dochow.

He and Dorothy RV’ed around the country, basing out of Yuma, Arizona. Selling was all about talking with people, learning about them, and sharing stories and friendships. There was always a place for a stranger turned friend to join the family for a meal, and rest their head for a night, in his Arch Cape home.

Making friends with Jack, it didn’t matter one’s educational background, social status, nationality or age. He was very trusting of strangers — a gracious, kind man, setting an example to others as to how we should treat people. Jack was so accommodating for people coming to their home, welcoming them with open arms, and offering them to come camp out on his lawn, or offering them a bed. Living at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, he proudly shared photos of his “backyard.”

Among Jack’s survivors are his daughters, Virginia Birkby, Jackie Dochow and Debra Birkby; son-in-law, Paul Dochow; sister, Ruthella Birkby Barnard; grandchildren, Hillary Dochow, Mark Dochow and Jolene Pauker; and great-grandchildren, Victoria Dochow, Linkin Dochow and Colton Pauker. Jack also leaves behind many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy; his brother, Robert Birkby; and parents Lucretia Isabel Carter Birkby and Lawrence Virgenice “Shorty” Birkby.

Jack was laid to rest May 17, 2018, with his wife, Dorothy, at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon, with military honors.