Patricia Edna Oertley
Patricia Edna (Pat) Oertley, passed away peacefully in her Bend home, on Nov.6, 2022 at the age of 95. She was born in Pensacola, FL on Oct. 9, 1927, to Cecil and Virginia (Bufkin) Webb, and grew up through high school with her brothers Cecil Jr. and Jerry, and sister Virginia, in Tampa, FL. She has resided in central Oregon for 40 years, first in Sunriver, then Bend.
Pat is survived by 3 of 4 of her step-daughters: Karen Oertley-Pihera, of Ball Ground, GA, Lori Oertley and her husband, of Eureka, CA, and Jill Oertley and her husband, of Waldport, OR.
After getting a Master's in Art, Pat earned 2 teaching certificates which allowed her to explore many different teaching adventures with the U.S. sponsored "International School Service" by successfully getting teaching positions in Caracas, Venezuela, in the high desert of rural Northern Chile, in coastal Peru, and finally in Saudi Arabia, where she met Dr. Robert (Bob) Oertley. Pat and Bob were married in 1966 in Beirut, and lived or worked for ARAMCO until they built a home and moved to Sunriver in 1982. During their married life, they travelled the world and got much joy from meeting new people, experiencing different cultures; they appreciated architecture, art and the 'unexpected' that comes with travel.
She welcomed, perhaps understandably with some reluctance, Bob's 4 daughters into their home in Arabia for a decade of summers, and turned them on to eye-opening books, delicious and exotic home cooked meals and many new and exciting experiences.
After Pat retired from teaching, she immersed herself into her passion of a plethora of art media, including painting, ink etching and print making, ceramics, a variety of fiber arts, photography, sculpture, and more. Much of her art work still graces walls in Central Oregon and beyond.
Pat is predeceased by her beloved husband, her father, mother, sister, brother, and eldest step-daughter.
Pat touched many lives in many parts of the world, during her long and interesting life. Up to the very end, she treated everyone around her kindly and appreciatively, and will be missed by so many, including her compatriot artist friends, neighbors, and team of wonderful caregivers, and support from Bend Senior Care Management and Partners in Care Hospice.
In lieu of flowers, Pat would be happy if you contributed to "OHSU Foundation to benefit the Layton Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Center", Portland, OR, or "Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades" in Bend, OR, in her memory.
For more information on Pat's life in Arabia, below is a link to 1996 interviews of ARAMCO employees, with Pat's interview starting on page 495. https://digicoll.lib.berkeley.edu/record/217972?ln=en
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