Skip Easterbrooks died peacefully on September 11, 2022, after spending the day surrounded by much of his family.
Skip was born on July 6, 1935, in Denver, Colorado, and enjoyed much of his youth in rural Idaho, where he graduated from Jerome High School in 1953. The best part about high school was meeting Carol, his wife of 65 years. They married in 1957 while both attended Idaho State University. Skip spent five years at Idaho State studying Pharmacy on a full basketball scholarship and serving in the Army ROTC.
After graduating from college in 1958, Skip spent six months in Army medical training in San Antonio, TX, and then moved to Redmond, Oregon, to work as a pharmacist and raise his family. He continued to serve as an Army Reserve Officer for seven years.
Twenty years as a pharmacist eventually led to another 40 years as a real estate broker. He never officially retired, but he sold his last house when he was 84.
Throughout his career and life, Skip was involved in many personal, athletic, and community-based organizations like the Greenback Singers, a musical group in which he played guitar and sang, Grover’s, a slow pitch softball team where he and his family made life-long friends, and Rotary International, where he served as a past President.
It would be an understatement to say Skip was a sports fan. While his years playing basketball in college led to multiple NCAA tournaments and put him on the court against the likes of NBA Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor, he also played tennis and later coached the Gresham High School girls’ tennis team to a State Championship.
An only child, Skip’s real passion was family. His family included three children, 12 grandchildren, one great grandchild, and many nieces, nephews, brothers- and sisters-in-law.
Although he was not a life-long church goer, he was a Christian believer, and he and Carol spent many of their years in Gresham, Oregon, attending East Hill Church.
Survivors include his wife, Carol, daughter, Stacey, and son, Pat, all of Boring, Oregon, as well as his son, Mike, of Redmond, Oregon. His grandchildren, great grandchild, and other family members live in various towns in Oregon, Idaho and throughout the United States.
There will be a private celebration of life for close friends and family at some point in the future.