Mylan Rakich III

Mylan Rakich III, 56, passed away unexpectedly on August 5, 2024, at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, OR. Born on April 18, 1968, in Rome, New York, Mylan was a cherished member of the academic and artistic communities in Portland. He dedicated his career to educating others, serving on the faculty at Portland Community College from 2004-2024 where he taught drawing, design, and sculpture, at the University of Portland teaching sculpture from 2009-2024, and Clackamas Community College where he taught welding from 2007-2013.

Mylan earned a BFA in sculpture and drawing from SUNY Purchase in 1992, a MFA in Sculpture from Portland State University in 2000, and a 2-year Certificate in Welding Technology from Portland Community College in 2009.

His passion for art was not only evident in his teaching but also in his own work as a sculptor. His sculptures and artwork have been featured in group and individual expositions throughout Oregon and beyond, and can be viewed publicly on the Portland Community College Cascade and Rock Creek campuses, the Clackamas Community College Oregon City campus, as well as in both public and private collections across the West Coast, as well as in Wisconsin and Georgia.

Outside of his professional life, Mylan was husband to Ariane Rakich and father of Ben, 12, and Jefferson, 8. He was the son of Christine Rakich of Saugerties, NY, and Mylan Rakich Jr. of Branford, CT.

Mylan's sons learned from him to be sensitive, strong, creative and expressive, he felt the world intensely and deeply. He loved to cook for his family, especially 'Papa Pizza', the strongest coffee you could ever imagine, grilled anything and everything on his Weber charcoal grill, and more-- he truly showed his love through feeding his family and friends. He loved taking his sons to school, daily trips to the grocery story, rough housing with the family black cat, Nera, watching Mandalorian (especially episode 1) or anything else Star Wars with his sons. He loved adventures in Brooklyn and everywhere NYC, Italy, Fossil (Oregon), and home-- remodeling, tearing down, repairing, and rebuilding, whether working with concrete, wood, steel, or dirt, he poured every ounce of himself into home.

Mylan enjoyed working in his studio in the backyard, welding and creating and tinkering and building, while blasting Beastie Boys, Eminem, Run-DMC, Dolly Parton, anything on KINK.fm, and especially Adele-- consider yourself lucky if you ever overheard him hitting those high notes in the backyard.

The family is planning an art exhibition of Mylan's work and a memorial at a later date as they take time to grieve this profound loss.

On Thursday, August 7th an Honor Walk was held in honor of Mylan being an organ donor. A small group of family and friends was there for a sad and beautiful day celebrating his amazing gift. We encourage everyone to register to be an organ donor: https://donatelife.net.

Contributions to support Mylan's wife and children can be made through Give In Kind at https://www.giveinkind.com/inkinds/W4O1F8H and a Go Fund Me campaign available at https://gofund.me/ed51ed35.