Ignatius "Naish" Francis Vandehey

Ignatius "Naish" F. Vandehey, 92, a resident of the Roy Community passed away on Monday morning, June 8, 2020 at his home.
Naish was born on the family farm on May 11, 1928, in Verboort, OR. He was one of eleven children born to William E. and Mary Agnes (Hermens) Vandehey. He was raised on the family farm in Verboort, attended Visitation Catholic Grade School and Verboort High School, graduating with the Class of 1947.
He met his future wife, Velma Jean VanDomelen, while at a dance. They soon began dating and married on February 17, 1953, in Roy, OR. Naish and Velma made their home in Aloha until 1958 when they moved to Roy, OR.  They had five children together: Robert "Bob", Karen, Edward "Ed", Jane and Jill. Velma passed away in 2012.
Naish loved baseball.  He started pitching in high school. Before joining the army he played for several local town and company teams, earning the nickname of "Lefty".  When the kids were young, there was always at least one family trip to Portland to watch the Portland Beavers play, usually coinciding with a birthday.  He loved telling stories about watching Ernie Banks play, Luis Tiant pitch and Lou Pinella roam the outfield.  Once the grandkids started playing sports, he attended many of their games, especially baseball games.
Naish worked for Tektronix his entire career. He started driving a delivery truck and then worked in the mail room. He retired in 1983 as a supervisor in the telecommunication division.
He enjoyed spending time outdoors, fishing, gardening and mowing lawns. He was a master woodworker and made many things for his family, friends and the St. Francis Bazaar.The most treasured wood projects included wishing wells, wooden toys and windmills. He was appreciated for his kitchen skills (especially Easter Breakfast and his signature waffles.) Naish had a wonderful singing voice.He was an avid card player, playing pinochle and Solo weekly. The children had fond memories of the yearly Rockaway Beach trips (after berry picking.)
He is preceded in death by his loving wife, Velma, his parents and seven siblings.
He is survived by his five children and their spouses:  Bob and Bev Vandehey of Hillsboro, Karen Vandehey of Hillsboro, Ed and Maggie Vandehey of Hillsboro, Jane Kitchen of Tigard, Jill and Bret Wood of McMinnville, three siblings and a sister-in-law: Florence VanDomelen, Elaine Duyck and Norman "Bob" and Ann Vandehey and nine grandchildren.
He will be missed and will always be remembered as an amazing dad, grandad, father-in-law, devoted husband, loving provider and faithful Christian. He blessed this world with his positive, non-judgmental nature. He was generously loving and is greatly loved. Naish changed us all for the better.