Inez Shirley Eckart

Inez Shirley Sickler was born in Portland, OR to Ray and Alma Sickler. She joined her older brothers Duane, Leon, and Gale, and the family was complete a few years later with the birth of their brother Tom. Inez attended Washington High School and graduated in 1949. At age 19, she met Gene Eckart at a bowling alley and they married two months later, in 1951. Gene was drafted by the US Army and stationed in Alabama where Inez joined him. When she got pregnant with their son Ray, Inez moved back to Portland to be with her parents, and awaited Gene’s discharge from the Army. After Ray’s birth, Inez and Gene added to their family with the births of Connie, Shirley, and Carol. In 1966, Gene was transferred to Los Angeles, where the family spent three years in La Habra. They realized how much extended family they had when everyone wanted to come visit, because they lived only seven miles from Disneyland. In 1969, Inez and Gene moved the family when Gene was transferred back to Portland, and settled into their house on 156th Avenue where they lived for the next 36 years. They moved into a new and growing neighborhood and they developed many new friendships. Inez began playing golf with the Electric Turtles ladies’ group. She and Gene spent a lot of those years golfing and bowling with their friends. In those years, Gene developed an interest in the credit union movement. Inez took a job with a credit union, and in a few years, they opened Eastco Management Services, to provide management for credit unions, and they eventually managed two credit unions out of the same office. Gene retired in 1993, and Inez followed him in 1994. They started traveling, and a favorite vacation spot was Hawaii. They especially liked the island of Kauai. Later they traveled to New Orleans, Mexico, Canada, and many times to Bend and the Oregon Coast. Inez loved the beach and many fun weekends were spent with the whole family at Lincoln City. She loved walking on the beach no matter how cold it was, and no trip to the beach was complete without a trip to the outlet mall. Inez’s hobbies included reading, crossword puzzles, walking, and working in the yard at their home. When she and Gene moved to Cherrywood Village in 2005, she volunteered to work in the library, following the lead of her three daughters who all worked in the library system in high school. Gene and Inez enjoyed their years at CherryWood Village and celebrated 64 years of marriage last February. About twelve years ago, Inez was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. She developed respiratory issues recently that led to her passing. Inez is survived by her husband Gene; her son, Ray Eckart, and his wife Eileen of Portland; daughters Connie Patterson and her husband John of Philomath; Shirley Tessman and her husband Randy of Canby; Carol O’Brien and her partner Heidi Skjordahl of Portland; grandchildren Andrew Patterson of Corvallis, Erica Eckart of Vancouver, WA, and Brian Tessman of Corvallis; and also two brothers, Gale Sickler, of Portland, and Tom Sickler, of Charbonneau. A celebration of Inez’s life will be at CherryWood Village Retirement Community on Saturday, January 30, from 1-4 pm, in the Board Room. The address is 1417 SE 107th Ave, Portland, OR 97216. For additional information, please contact Ray Eckart at 503-290-6404. In lieu of flowers, Inez requested that donations in her memory be made to the Caring Voice Coalition, which is an organization that helps people with chronic illnesses receive support and financial aid. Caring Voice Coalition Inc. 8249 Meadowbridge Road Mechanicsville, VA 2316 www.caringvoice.org Service Information