Obituary: David Povey

College years were spent at Lewis and Clark, where he graduated in 1962 with a degree in philosophy. Shortly after graduation, he married Glen Corbett, and they were off to join the Peace Corps (Group 9) with placement in the Philippines teaching English . There they welcomed their first child, Andrea Povey Heath, on Feb. 29, 1964. The young family then moved to Ithaca, N.Y., where their next two children soon followed: Sarah Povey Howerton, April 14, 1966, and Zachary Calder Povey, Aug. 9, 1968. With a growing family and the support of Glen, David managed to obtain his master’s degree and Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from Cornell University in 1969. The next move took the young family to Honolulu, Hawaii, where David got his first teaching job at the University of Hawaii in urban and regional planning — and a love was born.

It was not easy to leave the calming and natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands in 1973 — but David had found his passion in teaching and an opportunity arose to join the faculty as head of the urban and regional planning department at University of Oregon in Eugene. The family settled in and all the kids graduated from South Eugene High School. David and Glen went their separate ways in 1982.

Milestones in David’s career include spearheading the development of the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program, whose mission is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of trained graduate-level members who live and work in the communities, for 11 months. This is still a groundbreaking program that benefits both the students who gain real world experience and the rural communities that benefit from their training.

David and LaVonne’s first date was to the Dean’s Ball at U of O, a wedding soon followed in 1985 and the next 38 years were filled with David’s grown children, LaVonne’s daughters from a previous union, Tonya Boss and Kari Boss, eight grandchildren, Kaitlin, Zachary, Riley and Jake, Kyle, Amy, Evan and Addison, and five great-grandchildren, Drea, Journee, Trask, Bodhi and Baby Boy Heath. David retired in 1998 and Lavonne in 1999, and the two then moved to Mosier, Ore., with impressive views of the Columbia River, access to trails and waterfalls and orchards filled with cherries where the family routinely gathered. Their home was proudly lined with photographs of their busy extended family and their beloved black labs Humphrey, Mo and Max.

David and LaVonne spent a decade in the early 2000s dividing their time between Mosier and Sun Valley, Idaho, where they both worked as ski instructors during the winter months. They loved their active lifestyle and the many families and friends they met throughout their tenure in the Wood River Valley bouncing between lessons at Baldy and Dollar Mountain.

David’s hobbies inspired the next generation of fly fishermen, tractor drivers, skiers, campers, wind surfers and the occasional rum drinker. He loved to greet the day in his long green waxed jacket that symbolized his “time to get to work” ethic and to catch the sunset from deck of his house. He was larger than life and will be remembered for leaving a legacy of family.

A celebration of life for friends and family will be held Sunday, Aug. 27.