Obituary: Roundy, Russell “Russ”
His final months were spent in his hometown, Joseph, OR where friends and family surrounded him and he could enjoy the mountains that he loved.
He was born April 18th 1949 in La Grande to Carlyle and Edna Roundy and he graduated in 1967 from Joseph High School.
He then graduated from Oregon State University before moving on to the Oregon Health and Science University for medical school.
In addition he completed a family practice residency from the University of Washington in Yakima, WA.
His professional life was spent as an Emergency Room Physician at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, WA where he worked from 1978 until his retirement in 2012.
In this position he was passionate about teaching and helped many healthcare professionals including nurses, paramedics, and medical students to build their skills.
In addition, in the early 1980s, he helped develop Heart-Flight, which was the first helicopter transport program to serve Sacred Heart Medical Center.
He then served as the Medical Director of Heart-Flight and later the Co-Medical Director of MedStar.
Russ was an accomplished outdoorsman from an early age and hunted with rifles as well as bow and arrow.
Fishing was one of his earliest passions and Russ was an active member of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club.
In addition to these pursuits Russ was an avid birdwatcher who participated annually in the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count and had an impressive “life list” of bird species worldwide.
He is survived by his wife of 37 years (Deborah) and their three children (Andrew, Katherine, and James) as well as his mother (Edna) and two brothers (Keith and Steve).
A memorial will be held in the Providence Auditorium at Sacred Heart Medical Center on Wednesday, August 6th at 6:30PM (20 W. 9th Ave).
In lieu of flowers or gifts the family has requested that funds be donated in Russ’ name to the Wallowa Valley Healthcare Foundation (P.O.
Box 53, Enterprise, OR 97828) in thanks for all of their support in his care in his final months.
Alternatively, funds can be sent to the Youth Fishing Program with the Inland Empire Fishing Club (P.O.
Box 2926, Spokane, WA 99220).