Roy Thornton Duncan

Roy was many things to his family and friends; a son, younger brother, devoted husband, dedicated father, and loving grandfather. He was a native Australian turned (pseudo-) American, but before relocating to North America in 1958 with his new wife, our Nana, June, he served in the national service with the Air Force for a short time before pursuing engineering studies at the Royal Melbourne Technical College. From there Nana (June) and Grandpa (Roy) set sail for Canada - seeking adventure and new opportunity they set up a home in Vancouver, B.C. where they desperately looked for work, determined to make a life for themselves. Roy\u0027s first job there was as an insurance inspector - he liked it but wanted to get into something relevant to his training - he spent the rest of his career as a draftsman working in the pulp and paper industry in Vancouver and Montreal before being offered the chance to relocate to Portland, Oregon. Meanwhile, Nana was pregnant with our mother, Paula, and made it clear that there was no way they would be moving south to Oregon until she delivered the baby and had her first 6 week check-up. She stood her ground and Grandpa made it happen. Once in Portland, Roy eventually decided to go freelance providing more autonomy and flexibility to move about, and worked for several companies across the PNW. During this time, they had their son, our uncle, Roy Jr, and later purchased their first home off Lava Drive and in the not too distant future bought another property known as \u0026quot;49th\u0026quot; that would later be renovated entirely (story digression: only a few of weeks ago, we took Grandpa on a very slow drive by the former home to check out the condition and remember all of the beautiful work he had done mostly by himself, but with the guidance of his good friend, Jim Collins - he really loved this trip - he reminded us that his very good friend Ruth Wells, who was in real estate, told him about the property and sold it to them). It is quite clear just how many wonderful and interesting people Roy and June, our grandma and grandpa, met during their time living in their first apartment, now condominiums, off Lava Drive when they first moved to Portland and were deciding what their next steps would be. This would become their main social network for the rest of their lives. When their kids were in their early pre-teens Grandpa Roy was fortunate to be offered a ~2 year contract to work in Calcutta, India with his family. This was a wonderful experience for their young family offering a unique cultural experience and adventure abroad. At the end of the contract, Grandpa and Nana would send a cargo ship back to the states full of beautiful teak wood in various forms of furniture and storage boxes, as well as decorative brassware. This would become the basis for their home furniture going forward, always reminding them of their days in India. They flew to and stopped off in several countries before finally heading back home with their kids. Upon their return, Nana and Grandpa had several different friends that they enjoyed entertaining and being entertained by over the years including but not limited to Donna and Jerry Smith, Ruth and Bob Wells, Josie \u0026amp; Jim Collins and Gayle Smith (a lifetime friend from Australia who grew up on the same street as Roy). They returned to Australia a few times over the years for visits with family and friends but travel was more difficult and expensive then. In 1961, a few years after moving away from home they hosted their mothers, Minnie Priscilla Duncan and Lillian Davis, for several months and took them on a memorable road trip through Canada and several east coast and Midwestern states. It was a trip of a lifetime with slide photographs to prove it. Grandpa had a good heart, but it wasn\u0027t all his own - after a heart attack in his 50\u0027s and a more recent valve replacement in his late 60\u0027s, following the loss of Nana, his four grandchildren came to live with, and look after, him. He resumed the looking after role once he was well again. Our lives were forever changed. He would later adopt us and care for us for the rest of his life. He\u0027s the only father figure we know and we are eternally grateful for that. The level of selflessness Grandpa demonstrated over the years is truly inspirational and will never be forgotten. Grandpa had a real passion for home remodels and do-it-yourself projects even if doing it yourself meant it never actually was finished. He was a dreamer, he knew it. He loved talking about ideas and planning things out meticulously, but sometimes, particularly later in life, he spent more time planning than actually doing. He would chuckle and fully admit this to himself. I was hopeful and always thought that eventually I would help him see projects through to completion after he\u0027d ticked off some travel later in life, but altogether he was quite content with his life and that is something we can all smile about and remember him by. The 2016 Christmas period and New Year were filled with lots of fun moments - lunches and dinners out on the town in new restaurants, Mt Tabor walk, trips to his current and former properties, coffee from loads of new cafes, Christmas eve party with a white elephant exchange and too much to drink, Christmas dinner acting out charades and a 10pm visit to Walgreens, his daughters 50th birthday, a family trip to Timberline Lodge enjoying warm beverages by the fire, Italian dinner as a family and a trip to the OMSI for his 84th birthday. Unbeknownst to him or his family these would be his last few weeks of life, but fortunately we and, most importantly, Grandpa, are left with these happy times and memories to cherish and hold close to our hearts. Grandpa or \u0026quot;Gramps\u0026quot; as most called him was loved dearly by all 6 of his grandchildren along with their friends who met him. His two children cared very much for him even if at times he made this quite difficult to do; it would always be his way - or the highway - and that applied to each and every one of us at different stages of life. Through the years we learned to embrace his stubbornness and love him for who he was through and through... his selflessness and compassion for the world will always outweigh a bit of surliness now and again. You are loved Grandpa and will forever be with us. Survived by: Daughter, Paula Brigitta Hoffman, 50 Son, Roy Duncan Jr, 48 Granddaughter (adopted), Brittany Duncan, 29 Granddaughter (adopted), Brianna Duncan, 28 Granddaughter (adopted), Arianna Duncan, 20 Grandson (adopted), Lance Duncan, 18 Grandson, Royce Duncan, 17 Grandson, Brayden Duncan, 15"",