Beloved father, grandfather and friend; Roy David Comstock “Pickles”, a lifetime resident of Cove, OR, passed away, July 17, 2009, following a brief and courageous battle with cancer, surrounded by his family at his daughter’s home in Sandy, OR. He was 86 years old.
Roy was born December 3, 1922, in Cove, Oregon, to the Ralph and Emma Comstock. He was the youngest of six children raised in Cove where he attended grade school and high school. Roy served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps during WW II, as an SPD Dive Bomber pilot. He flew 85 missions in the South Pacific and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Following WW II, Roy married Ruth Cornelia Willhoit in LaGrande, OR, August 23, 1945. They lived in Tulsa, OK several years while Roy attended Sparten School of Aeronautics. They moved to Charles City, Iowa in 1947, where Roy managed an airport and taught flying. In the summer of 1949, Roy and Ruth relocated to Cove where they made their home and raised their four children. In later years, they spent the winter months with one of their daughters in Sandy, OR.
Along with farming, Roy worked at the Boise Cascade Particle Board Plant, retiring in 1984. Roy enjoyed gardening and was considered a master gardener by many.
Throughout his life, Roy was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, camping, and hunting. He particularly enjoyed fishing trips to Mexico with treasured departed friends, Canada with one of his sons, and his last fishing trip, November 2008, to Mexico with one of his grandsons. Roy enjoyed traveling and especially took pleasure in the trips he and his wife took with good friends to Alaska and Oklahoma. He enjoyed watching and following all sports, was a loyal supporter of Cove High School athletics, and was a literal sport’s fact dictionary. Roy loved to play cards with his family and friends. Above all, Roy loved his family.
Roy was a member of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in LaGrande, OR. He was a life member of the LaGrande Elks Lodge No.365, the VFW Post # 2990, and a long time member of the Cove Sportsman’s Club where he had held various officer duties over the years. He was an active board member of The Inn at Spanish Head for many years. Roy was the last original board member of the Dewuhs Keckritz Educational Trust serving Union and Wallowa counties.
Roy was preceded in death by his dearly loved wife, Ruth, his parents, siblings and many lifetime friends. Roy is survived by his children, John Comstock, Salem, OR, David Comstock and wife Pamela, LaGrande, OR, Nancy Comstock, Cove, OR, and Joyce Hyland and husband George, Sandy, OR; six grandchildren, Glen Comstock, Debra Rashidi and husband Manny, Cami Comstock, Geoff Hyland and fiancé Hope Doherty, Jillian Hyland, Janna Hyland and three great grandchildren. He is further survived by nieces, cousins, and many dear friends in Oregon and Arizona.