Obituary of Krista Jan Bacon-Vickrey

KRISTA JAN BACON-VICKREY Krista Jan Bacon-Vickrey, 55, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, March 26, 2010 in Vancouver, WA. Krista was born June 27, 1954, in Topeka, Kansas to Leonard and Charlene Bacon and was the oldest of their three children. Krista enjoyed a life filled with many personal, academic and professional achievements. She moved with her parents to Portland, Oregon at age 8 and graduated from Reynolds High School in 1972. After finishing her Associate's Degree in English at Mt. Hood Community College, Krista took a job at Union Mutual Insurance where she met her future husband, David. They were married June 11, 1982 on Kauai Island, Hawaii. She then entered Concordia College in Portland and took a job at Emanuel Hospital with the goal of pursuing a career in medical technology. In 1989 she took a break from her studies to give birth to her first son, Benjamin. By 1991 her second son, Andrew, was born, and in 1995 her daughter, Katherine, was born. Throughout the 1990s Krista remained a devoted full-time mother. In 2001, she began volunteering in the Evergreen School District's Art Discovery program, which inspired her to enroll at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, to pursue a degree in Art History. While at Clark, Krista accepted an invitation to join the speech and debate team. As a competitor, she helped lead the program to a division championship by earning awards in informative speaking, dramatic interpretation and parliamentary debate. As a result, Krista earned the Overall Top Speaker Award for the Northwest Forensics Conference and was named Clark College Speech and Debate Team Speaker of the Year for 2001-2002. By 2002, Krista had enrolled at Portland State University to continue work toward her Art History degree. She also accepted a position as assistant coach for the Clark College speech and debate team. As an assistant coach from 2002 until 2009, Krista worked tirelessly as a mentor, judge and administrator to help the Clark team earn division championships in each of those years. While coaching for Clark, Krista accompanied the team to the International Forensics Association tournaments in Rome, Madrid, Prague, Buenos Aires and London. Krista loved working with her students and became a respected judge educator in the Northwest Forensics Conference. In recognition of her work in the speech and debate community she earned the "Judge Educator Award" at the Oregon State University invitational tournament in 2007. While enrolled at Portland State, Krista had the opportunity to study abroad twice. The first three-month program took her to France, Italy and Switzerland while the second allowed her to spend three months on a tour of Northern Italy. In 2009, Krista enrolled in the phlebotomy program at Clark College and worked as a volunteer in the cancer center at Southwest Washington Medical Center, where she was loved and cherished as a patient counselor. One of Krista's greatest attributes was her ability to meet adversity with strength and determination. In 2005 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. By 2006 she had made a complete recovery and returned to her studies and her position with the Clark College Speech and Debate Team with her typical energy and drive. She faced her second cancer diagnosis in 2009 with the same determination. Krista is survived by her husband, David, sons Benjamin and Andrew, daughter Katherine, and beloved canine companion, Bear, of Vancouver, WA; parents Leonard and Charlene Bacon, of Vancouver, WA; brother and sister-in-law Ron and Laurie, of Medford, OR; sister Kathi, of Seattle, WA; nieces Jacque Dominguez and Julie Bacon, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 2, at Willamette Cemetery in Portland, Oregon followed by a celebration of her life at the Waterford at Fairway Village beginning at noon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Krista's name to Ray Hickey Hospice or to your local hospice. To send condolences or to sign the online guestbook, visit www.straubsfuneralhome.com.