Borrego Sun - Since 1949

We invite friends to join Leslie and her sons to honor the Life and Memory of Dick Emery on Friday, April 12 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Rams Hill Clubhouse.

Please gather to celebrate the most substantial Dick we've had the good fortune to know and love. Roderick "Dick" Emery left us on August 20, 2023.

Our Papa Dick was a man who personified the success through hard work mentality. Dick was a "by the bootstraps" kind of guy who approached each day with a sense of adventure and humor.

Born in Centralia, Illinois on April 12, 1936, Dick moved with his mother to Seattle by train.

His boyhood years were spent living up and down the West Coast where he especially enjoyed the summers in LA, often riding the bus to Muscle Beach. While living in Oakland, he earned money by gathering and selling milk bottles so that he and his mother could return to Seattle where he attended Garfield High School and later attended University of Washington.

Dick studied insurance which led him to a career in the field. His first ten years were spent as a commercial underwriter for Safeco. Dick, his wife Leslie and their two sons settled in Portland where in 1982, with partner Woody Karrigan, Dick founded Emery & Karrigan, Inc. an insurance brokerage specializing in cranes nationwide.

Dick and his partner built Emery & Karrigan into a successful business which remains in the Emery family with Rick, his eldest son carrying the torch. Upon retirement, Dick and Leslie traveled extensively and enjoyed spending winters in Borrego Springs, California where they have a wide network of friends, in addition to those in Portland.

Dick worked hard, played hard and loved deeply. He enjoyed playing golf, skiing, 4-wheeling, fishing and traveling. His laugh was contagious and he was always ready with a joke and a smile.

He leaves his devoted wife of 65+ years, Leslie, as well as his two sons, Rick and Stephen and their families. Papa Dick is missed profoundly by his grandchildren, Kate, Elizabeth and Camden.

We were so lucky to be able to celebrate milestones with him and have his presence in our lives. He made us laugh to the end – joking with that twinkle in his eye that always had us guessing what he was up to. He is greatly missed.