Robert Bruce Ewalt

Obituary

About 30 years ago, Bob Ewalt took his two sons to a neglected strip of land between Macadam Avenue and Interstate 5 in South Portland. Buried under years of vines and shrubs was a plaque marking the site of Portland's first framed building and its builder, an ancestor Bob had discovered while tracing family lines through all the old historical records (or family lore) he could get his hands on. The three of them spent the morning with clippers and work gloves, cutting back the overgrowth until the bronze marker was visible again.
Naturally, Bob saw this as the perfect moment to remind his sons, yet again, that they descended from pioneers who had come when Oregon Country extended from California all the way to Alaska. His teenage boys had heard this particular history lesson many times before. Today, they'd give anything to hear him tell it just once more.
That morning captured Bob perfectly. Born in Portland in the mid-1940s and raised in nearby Milwaukie, Bob was a proud Oregonian who celebrated both the history and his connection to the people who established this beautiful state. In 1965, he enlisted in the Army's Signal Intelligence Corps, serving for four years in Germany and the United Kingdom. After returning home, he completed a degree in business at Oregon State University. He also met his future wife, Patricia, there while shelving textbooks at the campus bookstore. They married in 1972. Bob spent years working at PGE and in other administrative roles, but these jobs were simply how he made a living; his true passions lay elsewhere. Although the marriage to Patricia later ended, they prioritized their sons, Matt and Jon, above all else.
Bob's best days began downtown with breakfast at Fuller's, followed by late mornings spent either combing the stacks at Powell's Books, buying a favorite magazine, and sitting down to read it with a cup of coffee, or poring over books in the Oregon Historical Society reading room. There he'd cross-reference Hudson's Bay Company rolls, early dairyman records, and other documents that predated the Oregon Trail.
Though most of his life was spent in Oregon, he enjoyed opportunities to move around the country with his sons and their growing families. He relocated to Wisconsin for a few years when Jon moved to the small lakeside town of Bayfield. Later, he joined Matt in northern Virginia, where they explored all that DC had to offer, before eventually returning to Oregon.
For a few precious years, the whole family found themselves back in the Portland area together, where Bob was always there for celebrations, teaching the grandchildren how to pronounce "Willamette", and sharing his love for family history. He passed on his passion for a maple bar or a slice of pie not only to his kids but also to his grandchildren alike. These simple rituals mattered to him as much as any historical discovery.
Bob is survived by his sons, Matt and Jon; daughters-in-law, Kimberly and Danielle; eight grandchildren; and his former wife, Patricia. A memorial service with military honors will be held at Willamette National Cemetery on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Oregon Historical Society.
And that plaque? It's now proudly featured in Elizabeth Caruthers Park, just steps from where he eventually lived in the South Waterfront. Quiet evidence that the stories he cared about were worth preserving.

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