Andy Landforce

Andy Landforce

1917 - 2023

After a long and extraordinary life Andy Landforce passed away on January 27, 2023 surrounded by his family. He was remarkably healthy and active until very shortly before he died. He would have been 106 years old on February 7th. His life spanned some of the most important events in US History including the Depression, WWII, and two pandemics. He leaves an accomplished and inspirational legacy at Oregon State University and in the Corvallis community. He was often referred to as a local legend and a community treasure, and those titles describe him perfectly. He was also a committed and active father, a good husband, and a cooperative and hardworking colleague. He lived in Corvallis for 74 years counting his years as a student at OSC (Oregon State College) where he held many student leadership positions including student body president in 1941-42. He worked 35 years at OSU in Fisheries and Wildlife, Extension and 4-H and another 17 years as a professional fishing guide on Oregon's coastal rivers. He holds many distinctions such as the longest lived participant in the 1942 Rose Bowl and the longest standing season ticket holder for OSU football. He was an ardent Beaver Believer and could often be seen in the stadium or coliseum, or hiking Bald Hill, in his orange cowboy hat. He was a personal friend of Slats Gill and many of the people who built the structures and institutions at OSU and in the Corvallis community. He never met a stranger and is well remembered for his easy smile and ineffable friendliness. He lived by the values of health, harmony, kindness and gratitude and often ended his interactions by sincerely saying "I'm wishing you daily happiness without a special reason".

Andy was born in 1917 in Seattle Washington with the birth name of Andrew Nicolas Swanson. At four years of age, he was adopted by his aunt Clara and uncle Andrew Landforce. "Father Landforce" had a profound positive impact on his life and he took the Landforce name. He was 12 years old when the Great Depression hit and he spent his adolescent years growing food on the family farm, delivering milk and hunting and fishing for sustenance. He became an accomplished fisherman and hunter and developed a high value of respect for the lives of the animals he took to sustain his own. He loved playing High School football and leading the team. There was a part of him that always wanted to be a football coach and he would have been a good one!

After high school Andy went to Alaska for a few years to trap and work in the gold mines. He returned from that experience knowing that he did not want to do physical labor for a living. Through a chance encounter on the boat home with Professor Demick in the Agriculture Department at OSC, he decided to attend college and study agriculture, fish and wildlife. He lived in Polling Hall (now Weatherford) for four years, and became one of very few student body presidents ever elected as an Independent. World War II broke out during his college presidency and he led an effort to prevent the Japanese American students from being sent to detention camps. He was unsuccessful but carried that sense of social injustice into the rest of his life and always stood up for those who faced discrimination because of who they were. Being ROTC in college, he joined the war effort as a Company Commander and served in two theatres during the war, Europe and the Asia/Pacific. His first assignment was at the War Dog Reception and Training Center in Montana. Before reporting there, he married Evelyn Romig of Rickreall Oregon at a military wedding in Fort Sill Oklahoma in 1942 and they started their life together in a little cabin in the Montana backwoods. In Europe at the age of 25 Andy commanded all African-American units of 300 soldiers. He owed his life to the Black officers who taught him how to do his job well in a very precarious racial situation. He came back from the war with an understanding of the value of every person regardless of race or nationality and deeply grateful to be alive.

Following World War II, Andy began a career with the OSU Extension Service. Offered a job by Frank Ballard in 1946, he became the first Extension Agent in Wallowa County, where he stayed for seven years. He was recognized as Junior First Citizen of Wallowa County in 1949. He loved that job and the people of 'the county' and retained lifelong friends from that time, returning annually for fishing and hunting trips. Returning to Corvallis in 1953, he was appointed as the first Extension Specialist in Wildlife Management Education for OSU. Later in his career, he was statewide coordinator for 4-H programs, developing leader training workshops and wildlife outdoor schools during the late 1950s. His accomplishments were many, including induction into the 4-H Hall of Fame and the Conservation Educator of the Year for the Oregon Wildlife Foundation. His work leaves a lasting conservation legacy in the region including being instrumental in the establishment of Finley National Wildlife Refuge. Full archives of his many accomplishments can be found on the OSU Archive website at http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/oh150/landforce/biography.html

Landforce retired from OSU Extension in 1971, but continued to be involved with Extension affairs for a number of years following. At this same time, he began a new career as a fishing guide on Oregon's rivers, which he pursued for an additional seventeen years. He is a founding member of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders and was very active in the Isaak Walton League. He was so successful at fishing that many of the other fishing guides didn't want to follow him down the river, knowing all the fish would be gone! He fished successfully on all the major rivers in Oregon sharing these coveted experiences with family and friends well into his 90's. He was immensely grateful for the many friendships he shared on the riverbank and in his boat and cherished those memories always.

During his happy working years in Corvallis he and Evelyn raised three children, Dianne (born 1950), Debora (born 1952) and John (born 1954). Andy and Evelyn had wonderful neighbors on West Hills Road and Andy could be seen at almost every event at Corvallis High School and around town that involved his children. He spent family time both as a family unit and with each child individually on many camping, hiking and fishing trips and at one point created an educational program called "Family Outdoor Recreation" starring his children. He and Evelyn were married almost 70 years when she died in 2012 after living gracefully with cancer for three years. At the age of 95, Andy was her full-time caregiver while maintaining a large home with the help of devoted family members, friends and neighbors. He continued to live in his own home and take daily walks in the neighborhood until his death. The amount of physical and emotional resilience in this man is truly the stuff of legends.

Andy is survived by his Children: Dianne Reinmuth (Bruce Reinmuth), Debora Landforce (Donna Champeau), and John Landforce (Lynda Fischer). Grandchildren: Greg Reinmuth, Mark Reinmuth, Janni Reinmuth, Katie Kavehrad, Colin Landforce and David Landforce. Great Grandchildren: Maya, Kelsey, Evie, Cora, James, Mina, Cece, Jayden and Dre'.

Andy was one of a kind and leaves an inspirational legacy of respect and kindness for all, love for nature and humankind, and an unending enthusiasm for living life to its fullest.

DeMoss-Durdan Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. Please leave your condolence messages for the family at www.demossdurdan.com.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday March 12th from 2-4 pm. Benton County Fairgrounds Auditorium at 110 SW 53rd Street in Corvallis.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend.