Obituary for Douglas Wayne Cortrecht Celebrating the Life of: Douglas Wayne Cortrecht January 15, 1948 – April 28, 2018 Douglas transitioned in the comfort of his home surrounded by his wife, son and daughter and close friends on Saturday April 28. Douglas Wayne Cortrecht was born in Anderson, Indiana on January 15, 1948 to Harvey and Janet. He grew up in rural Anderson and cultivated a taste for taking things apart and seeing how they worked while he spent time at his dad’s Shell station.
He was a drummer in the Highland High School marching band and worked for General Motors/Delco Remy in Anderson for almost a decade, quitting just shy of his investment in their retirement program! In 1976 Douglas and his partner, to be spouse, Elaine Barker crossed the country in the 1965 Chevy van he customized to arrive in Oregon. His vision was to build his own home and Oregon had the trees for the project.
In the meantime they lived off the grid for 13 years in the mountains above Holland Store at Mtn. Ranch allowing Doug to hone his skills until they found their home site down in the Valley. When Doug set out to build, he literally did it all: designing the structure and it’s details, hauling the trees out of the forest to make shakes for the roof, digging the hole for the septic tank with his tractor, designing and building everything from the cabinets to the windows himself… Doug’s ethic of craftsmanship extended into many forms and media: wood, blacksmithing, ceramics, plumbing, etc.
as well as mechanical and electrical devices. He was a master of many things and was able to build beauty into every project, large or small, anything he set his mind to. He cared about how things worked, how things were best done and had the skill and the patience to execute the tasks to his standard.
He could fix anything. He was inventive and accompanied these skills with his own notable humor that fit with his style. Doug was a lot of things to a lot of people.
Evidence of his creativity, spirit and problem solving can be seen throughout the Illinois Valley as well as back in Indiana. He found time to be a volunteer fireman at station 4 for many years and also worked some seasons at the California Agricultural Inspection Station. He was a member of the State of Jefferson Blacksmiths which afforded a number of interesting adventures.
He was very involved in the lives of his children, Ian Barker-Cortrecht and Thea Barker-Cortecht. He was a stay at home dad while they were young. He coached peewee soccer, T ball and coach pitch.
He contributed greatly to projects at the Dome School and cared for his mother Janet Cortrecht who also lived in Cave Junction for several years. Douglas is survived by his spouse, Elaine Barker, his children, Ian and Thea, his sister Karon Cortrecht Kardatzke and 2 neices and 1 nephew and their children. He was preceded in death by his mother, Janet and his father, Harvey.
Doug will be sorely missed, A celebration of his life is being planned for later in the summer. Contributions can be made for the purchase of a boulder with a memorial marker to be placed at his home. On Doug’s and his family’s behalf we would like to express our deepest thanks and appreciation for all the vast goodness and generosity that was showered on all of us during Doug’s illness.
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