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BORN
1926
DIED
2023
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Robert Tokarczyk Obituary
Aug. 15, 1926 - Feb. 27, 2023
Bob was born in Tacoma, Wash., Aug. 15, 1926, the middle child of William Walter and Lily Brown Tokarczyk.
Bob graduated from Tacoma's Lincoln High School in 1944. He then attended Washington State College and majored in Forest Management receiving his B.S. in 1951.
That same year he married his college sweetheart, Barbara Heald. They had two children, Marsha (b. 1952) and Bruce (b. 1956). After Barbara's passing in 1990 he was remarried to Beverly until her death in 2011.
Bob became the District Ranger for the Mount Adams Ranger District in Trout Lake. In 1963, the USFS assigned Bob to the Siskiyou National Forest out of Grants Pass, Ore., to assist with timber salvage following the historic Columbus Day Storm. After seven years in the Siskiyou National Forest, he became head of the timber staff on the Willamette National Forest. In 1974, he transferred to the Deschutes National Forest in Bend, Ore., to be the Deputy Forest Supervisor. Bob became Forest Supervisor of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1976 and retired in 1983. He received many professional accolades from his successful management of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens and conferred with President Carter when he came out to tour the volcano.
A member of the Society of American Foresters since 1959, the OSAF honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. In 2000, the national SAF recognized Bob for the longtime effort to promote forestry with its prestigious John A. Beale Memorial Award.
He is survived by his children, Bruce (Dags) Tokarczyk, Marsha (Steve) Ham; grandchildren, Genevieve Ham, Julia (Matt) Knudsen, Tyrone Tokarczyk, and Russa (Eric) Kinnaman; three great-grandchildren; and his longtime companion, Virginia Williams.
A memorial for Robert D. Tokarczyk will be held at 1 p.m., April 1, 2023, at the First Presbyterian Church of Vancouver, 4300 Main St., Vancouver, WA 98663.
See further obituary details at evergreenmemorialgardens.com
Please sign the online guest book at www.oregonlive.com/obits
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Robert Tokarczyk
Sponsored by The Family.
6 Entries
Russ Hudson, WFCA president 1985
May 9, 2023
As a former trustee of the Western Forestry and Conservation Association it was a pleasure to work with Bob to make that organization such a successful endeavor. This was during the time that timberland ownership was being transferred from operating companies to financial organizations. This made it difficult to find support for WFCA but Bob managed to keep us in business. Bob was a Forester's Forester, I really enjoyed working with him.
Bill Ruediger
April 17, 2023
I worked for Bob Tokarczyk from 1979 until 1986. During my career, I worked for many great people in the US Forest Service, but Bob was the best. He was the best Forest Supervisor in the outfit. Bob was a wonderful person that would help anyone he could. He was much revered in the Forest Service and elsewhere. Always positive, always with a smile on his face and always a happy person to be around. I worked for Bob before and after Mt St Helens and he did a fantastic job coordinating that difficult situation. Not many people know it, but Mt St Helens was one of the most difficult situations that the Forest Service faced it its entire existence. People were killed and injured, cut off from roads - a real mess. And, the follow-up work was complex and difficult. Two Presidents visited the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which is the most ever in the history of the agency. Bob took this all in stride. He could talk with the Presidents of the United States - and then a seasonal employee with equal kindness and respect. What a guy! Bob, you did well and everyone loved you. His was a life lived well.
Neil Leitner
March 25, 2023
For several years, Bob was one of four regular attendees at a church coffee hour. The weekly meeting was discontinued after Covid hit. Everything Bob contributed was valuable and he was a fine person. I am the only one left.
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Temple Hahn
March 23, 2023
I have many fine memoiries of Bob. Worked for him from 1955 to 1958 on the Mt.Adams RD on the GP. Maintained contact with him , family and friend over the years. Bob was always joking, and and one of my favorites was at a National FS Reunion , when across the large meeting room I heard a loud voice yelling "Temple Hahn I know all about you" ! Turned out he and Virginia Williams (Taylor) had been looking at her 1953 Millwaukie OR High School Yearbook. and found my ehtry. Bob was a special person and the FS could not have had a better representative to meet with President Carter on Mount St. Helens. He had a long history with that mountain and had climbed it I believe 15 times. It was a honor to have known and laughed with Bob Polack (as he liked to call himself) Tokarczyk . My best to everone Temple (Timber Beast) Hahn
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