Roger Dale Bristol

February 23, 1954 – September 28, 2025

Roger Dale Bristol died September 28, 2025 after suffering complications from a cardiac arrest on September 23, 2025.

Roger was born in Bend, Oregon on February 23, 1954 to Vivian M. (Pearson) and Robert L. Bristol as the second of three children. His sisters are Ann M. Willis and Karen F. Merrigan. Roger spent his childhood in Bend where he graduated from Bend High in 1972. He spent his junior year in Australia as a Rotary exchange student where he met his future wife, Pamela Phillips. They were married on October 14, 1978 and together pursued Roger’s life passion for a large, loving family with 6 children and 13 grandchildren. Roger’s family included Daniel, his wife Heather and their children Ryan, Kaylynn, and Samara, Heather, her husband Chase and their children Easton and Miles, Benjamin, his wife Sarah and their children Jack and Emma, Annette, Jonathan, his wife Courtney and their children Owen, Avery, Isaiah, and John John, and Philip, his wife Chelsea and their children Landon and Paige. Roger was a man of profound faith and desired to share the peace it brought him with everyone he interacted.

As a child, Roger liked to spend his summers helping his Uncle Virgil and Aunt Elsie on their cattle ranch in Weiser, Idaho. From an early age, Roger had a natural intuition with machines and could fix almost anything. At 14, he took a job for a local contractor who also owned a ranch where he spent the summers digging ditches and installing irrigation. This job included work on the Sage Hen Hill rest area on Highway 20, which became lovingly known as Roger’s Park, by his family.

Roger’s love of ranching inspired his choice in apparel, which often included a cowboy hat, and led him to pursue higher education in agricultural economics.  After a year at Central Oregon Community College, Roger spent a year managing a working ranch in Mitchell, Oregon before moving to Salem to finish his education at Oregon State University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in 1977 and finished his Master’s degree in 1981.

Roger spent 25 years of his working career in finance management related roles primarily in agriculture related business. In 1997, Roger and Pam bought a small acreage in Harrisburg, Oregon where Roger worked with his children on building The Farm House. This experience led him to become a general contractor where he worked as a builder, developer, and handy-man until he retired.

Between building, fixing, and donating time to help his neighbors, children, and grandchildren, Roger loved traveling with Pam in their trailer. They often spent several weeks on the road together visiting national parks and seeking warmer weather in the winter. They also enjoyed long trips to Australia, visiting Pam’s family, where Roger loved to swim, snorkel, hike, and sit and watch eagles and boats come into Sydney Harbor.

In 2008, Pam and Roger purchased the Koinonia Kottage on the North Fork River of the Santiam, just outside of Lyons, Oregon. This property was destroyed in the Beachey Creek Fire Labor Day weekend of 2020. Over the past five years, with the support of their children, Roger and Pam worked with their North Fork neighbors to rebuild their river community on Dogwood Lane. The River Home was Roger’s latest passion and final masterpiece.

Should you wish to donate in his memory we recommend:

Court Appointed Special Advocate of Linn Co, https://www.linncasa.org/donate/

Every Child of Lane Co  https://www.everychild.org/lane/