The departed: Heroes, celebrities and rogues, from Oregon and beyond, who died in 2020
Updated Dec 28, 2020;
Posted Dec 28, 2020
Among those we lost in 2020 (clockwise): Retired Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant, Sisters of the Road co-founder Genny Nelson, former Trail Blazers executive Harry Glickman and sexuality expert Shere Hite.
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2020 has been a rough year, and we’ve lost far too many people along the way.
Below The Oregonian/OregonLive offers up a list, far from exhaustive, of notable Oregonians and other Americans who died in the past 12 months, from the beloved to the notorious. (We also include a few dearly departed from foreign locales who made an impact in the United States).
Walter C. Reynolds, pioneering Portland doctor and Urban League president, dies at 100 OregonLive.com 12/21/2020
Pioneering Portland physician Walter C. Reynolds died last month in Gresham. He was 100.
The U.S. Army veteran was the first African-American to graduate from the University of Oregon Medical School, now Oregon Health & Science University. Reynolds opened his own clinic on North Williams Avenue in Portland and went on to lead the medical staff at Emanuel Hospital. He later helped recruit minority students to OHSU. (One of the medical school’s popular aerial trams is named “Walt” in his honor.)
Inspired by his mentor Dr. DeNorval Unthank, Dr. Reynolds looked beyond his medical practice and the medical profession in his efforts to improve the community. He worked to combat racism in Oregon as well as increase opportunities for people of color, serving as president of the Urban League of Portland in the late 1950s.