Patrick Dering

Obituary for Patrick M. Dering

Patrick M. Dering was born on October 2, 1934 in Portland, Oregon to Mike P. & Amy Kendall Dering. He died at a Portland hospital on June 28, 2008 at the age of 73 from injuries suffered in a single car accident in May.

He was raised in Scappoose and graduated from Scappoose Hi in '52 awarded the "Most Likeable Male Student". He was sophomore class president, student body president, captain of the football team for 4 years, and he lettered in baseball as team catcher. He went onto college at Willamette University-in his freshman year he pledged in Sigma Chi and played right guard on the football team, catcher on the baseball team. He graduated from Oregon state in 1957 on the Dean's list with a GPA of 3.8.

In 1957 he joined the family business Petersen & Dering Wholesale Rose Growers at one time the largest Rose grower in the US not knowing at the time-March of '57 in the year of his graduation from Oregon State, mother nature devastated 2 years of the rose crops. A freeze, trying to save the business and 250 employees jobs and the doors later closed in 1965. He was president of the Oregon Nurserymans Association and in 1965 was slated to become the National Nurserymans Association president.

Graveside service & interment: Columbia Memorial Gardens-Scappoose, OR. Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 10:00 AM, followed by a reception at the Village Inn.