Denis Brian Jarvis

February 23, 1937 - September 8, 2016

Denis Brian Jarvis died peacefully at home with family present after a courageous journey with cancer for four years. Typically he retained control as much as possible by using Oregon Death with Dignity. He was born in Yorkshire, UK. He attended Riley High school where he was Head Boy in his final year. He gained a State Scholarship which enabled him to pursue a Physics degree at Birmingham University. He achieved a First Class Honors degree which is the highest level. Looking back he realizes how lucky he was to benefit from the socialist political climate. The State Scholarship paid all tuition costs and provided maintenance during term time. Hence he was financially independent from age eighteen. He married Janet Elizabeth Hayward in 1958. They raised a family of four, with twins Stephen and Wendy, followed by Kathryn and then Helen. The family has expanded to include five wonderful grandchildren - Ben, Natasha, Anna, Zoe and Miriam. These are the cause of great hope to their proud grandpa. All thirty five years of his working life Denis was employed by Philips electronics, where he worked in research and development and became a CAD manager. He was an engineer at heart and could turn his hand to most practical tasks from building his first radiogram to designing and helping to build a home for his and his wife’s retirement in 1993. From his children’s cry of “Daddy Mend” when a toy broke, to later helping older people learn how to use their MAC computers, he was always a Mr Fix It. In retirement he was involved with his neighborhood's water system and he was president of their water district for fifteen years, which meant he had to find a solution for any problems that occurred. He was very active in the Academy for Lifelong Learning from its second term until recently. He was on the curriculum committee and for seven years was leader of the facilities committee. He and his wife delivered Meals on Wheels for more than ten years. He is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren who will miss him greatly. A Celebration of Life gathering will be held in Dennis Hall, 114 SW 8th St, Corvallis, attached to the First Presbyterian Church, on Thursday September 15th at 2pm. In lieu of flowers donations may be given to Benton Hospice, www.bentonhospice.org/donate or First Presbyterian Church, Corvallis. Special thanks to Keith of Benton Hospice for his thoughtful care and also to Compassion and Choice for their sensitive guidance.