Obituary: Dennis Radford

One Sunday afternoon at the new North Bend indoor swimming pool, he met a gal from Coos Bay named Anne and asked her out, starting an on and off romance. They married in 1965. Daughter Shelley was born in 1967, Carrie in 1969 and Scott in 1971.

During the summers while in college, he worked nights at the North Bend Weyerhaeuser Mill. Just before his senior year of college, he was called into their office and offered a full scholarship for expenses if he would join their staff. He told them he was going to be a teacher and wrestling coach. Dennis graduated from U of O in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in health and physical education, and lettered three years in wrestling. In the spring interviewing at The Dalles High School, he accepted the health-PE position, which led to 31 years of teaching and 35 coaching.

In 1973, when the Oregon High School Cultural Exchange wrestling team was gong to be headed to South Africa, and knowing TD Kevin Kramer would make the team, Dennis became their coach-manager, thus spending four full weeks touring the country, staying in homes, and the students wrestling freestyle at each location. The team won all their matches. With the extra time on his ticket, he was able to attend four days at the Berlin, Germany, Olympics on the way home.

Dennis enjoyed teaching and working with students and in retirement, he often mentioned he spent much time counseling students as well. Over the years, many former students, when in town, would come by to visit, calling him “Coach.” He was very thankful two of his All American wrestlers, Kevin Kramer and Rich Rolen, came back to both teach and coach with him.

Dennis was inducted into many Hall of Fames, the first being the Oregon and National Wrestling Hall of Fame and also into The Dalles First Booster Club Hall of Fame in 2020.

In his early years in The Dalles, he worked summers at Stadelman Plant and decided in 1975 to purchase an orchard on Threemile Road. He then became active in the agricultural community and in 1999, we were the Cherry Festival’s King Bean and Royal Ann. He also became a beekeeper with 80 hives, taking them to Sherman and Hood River areas as well.

In 2005, working on his family genealogy, we headed to England twice to look at parish records and meet relatives. In those records, many of his relatives were listed as farm laborers — which he too had become.

At each wrestling season’s awards, he encouraged everyone to “Pay Back.” For all to remember those coaches who helped them in their earlier sports growing up, and to pay back by helping to coach the next generations.

A celebration of life gathering will be held in May.

Surviving family members are Martha Anne (Shellenbarger) Radford, wife of 56 years; daughters Shelley Shaver (James) and Carrie Roderick Morris (Matt); son Scott Radford; grandchildren Alex Devlaminck (Julie), Jack Devlaeminck, Edward Devlaeminck, Samuel Shaver, Dean Roderick (Madison), Mason Morris and Luke and Kate Radford; great-grandchildren Aiden and Kinsley Devlaeminck; and sisters Marcella Lynch and Nefertari Callier Wells.