Remembering David Odom

Friends of Trees will hold a memorial service for Neighborhood Trees Specialist David Odom at the World Forestry Center’s Miller Hall, 4033 SW Canyon Road, on Monday, January 30. The service is at 1:00 p.m. and will be followed by a memorial tree planting at 4:30 pm at Woodlawn Park, in the neighborhood where David lived.

David was preceded in death by his parents and survived by his brother John and two nephews–and by his dogs, Pepe and Frieda.

David’s enthusiasm, intelligence, passion for trees, and sense of humor brought life to Friends of Trees’ office and to every planting that he led. He became Neighborhood Trees Specialist in September 2009, but his volunteer work with Friends of Trees—and his dedication to trees—began years before.

Before joining Friends of Trees, he attended school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Missoula, Montana, and earned a bachelor of science in Resource Conservation from the School of Forestry (now the School of Environment and Conservation) at the University of Montana. After he graduated, David worked in urban planning in Idaho and Colorado before moving to Oregon. He became associate planner in urban forestry for the City of Lake Oswego, then worked as urban forestry planner for the City of Gresham, where he secured the city’s Tree City USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation.

A certified arborist-municipal specialist and a certified tree risk assessor with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), David served on the board of Oregon Community Trees, which advises the state forester on urban forestry issues. He was also a member of Portland’s Urban Forestry Commission, which is appointed by the mayor to review tree policies, educate people about city tree issues, plan Arbor Week events, and advise the director of Portland Parks & Recreation and the city forester. In October 2010, he was elected as vice chair of the commission.

After David was elected as vice chair, Brian Krieg, past chair of the commission, wrote, “The entire Urban Forestry Commission is excited to see David move up to this position—and hopefully chairman in two years. His enthusiasm and passion for trees will keep us moving forward!”

David was an articulate and persuasive advocate for city trees. Last November, he appeared with Neighborhood Trees Manager Whitney Dorer on TV, and he was interviewed by Mike Darcy at the start of the Plant It Portland! campaign. His wry sense of humor is evident in this video created last year as part of Friends of Trees’ training for neighborhood coordinators. In addition, David anonymously narrated and demonstrated proper tree care numerous times on Friends of Trees’ blog as Dr. Tree.

David once explained that he couldn’t visit any place, especially cities, without noticing the trees. He described himself as “a good-natured and dedicated civil servant serving the public with courteous good will.” When asked his goal at Friends of Trees, he quipped, “Plant lots of trees.”

David loved camping, taking road trips, spending time with his dogs, snowboarding, bicycling, motorcycling, and “all things that go fast.” He used to spend hours exploring record stores and enjoyed discovering new music. He also appreciated high quality cowboy boots.  A close friend described him as three parts cowboy and one part urban hipster.

The slide show above includes photos of David collected by Friends of Trees staff, and the following are some reflections from the Friends of Trees community:

“David was really a great guy, very collected and personable.”

“He was always so positive and funny.”

“He always made me laugh.”

“I will always remember with great fondness his warmth and engaging smile, his wonderful way of connecting with people, his deep knowledge of and commitment to his work, and how he was always such an enthusiastic endorser and supporter of FOT volunteers.”

“He had such a smile and a warm and kind presence. Even in the brief time that I was in his company I remember distinctly being happier for having spent the afternoon planting trees with him.”

“As I was heading back to Oregon on January 3 from my California Christmas visit, I was thinking about why I love Oregon/Portland, and I kept thinking about all the colorful people that make this place rich, and a fleeting picture of David in his red cowboy boots flashed in my head. … He certainly made an impression and I do know he made and will continue to make a huge difference throughout our region!”

“I felt David had lived ten lifetimes in the same time it has taken me to live only one. He added his abilities and gifts to so many places and touched so many people. We were all so lucky to be one of the places that got to have him for even a short time. I just keep expecting to hear him bounding upstairs to our office. I’m having a very difficult time accepting that I won’t.”

Few of us knew how many people beyond Friends of Trees loved David, too. Memorial gatherings have been held in Manchester, Connecticut, where David grew up, and in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and hundreds of messages from across the country have been left on the CaringBridge web site.

In addition to planting a tree on January 30—a Nyssa sylvatica ‘David Odom’ Afterburner Tupelo, a new cultivar that J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. named after David—Friends of Trees is making plans to plant a grove in memory of David. Our hope is to plant the grove at the Columbia Children’s Arboretum in Northeast Portland, but the planning process will take some time. In addition, the City of Gresham plans to honor David with a planting.

A memorial fund has also been established in David’s honor at Friends of Trees. Donations in his memory can be made by purchasing Gift Trees or Groves at “Dedicate a Gift Tree” at www.FriendsofTrees.org or by designating David’s memorial fund on the web site’s “Give Now” page.   

Friends of Trees is grateful to the World Forestry Center for holding the memorial service and to J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. for naming the company’s newest cultivar after David. David loved many trees, and tupelos were one of his favorites. The Afterburner Tupelo’s glossy green foliage and fire-red fall color parallel David in many ways.

As a Friends of Trees staff member observed, David’s light burned so bright that even though he is gone, the glow will last in our hearts forever.