Alise (Alyce) Rose Rubin
Feb. 26, 1947 - May 23, 2019
Alise was born and raised in Detroit, Mich., to John W. and Elinor M. Rubin. She died peacefully May 23, 2019 after a 3-1/2-year battle with ovarian cancer. Her husband and friends were at her side.
Alise graduated from the University of Michigan in 1968 (BA in Russian history, literature and language) and in 1971 (MA in Comparative Literature). Afterwards, she and her former husband, Robert, moved to Portland for their "great West Coast adventure." Alise found her true home in Portland and loved the beauty and variety of Oregon and the West Coast.
She eventually joined Tektronix in 1974 in various positions, starting with Export Services, then manager of the department, order processing for the entire company; then breaking up the order processing system into each corporate division. In 1978 she earned an MBA at the University of Portland. Alise's travels included Western Europe, the Soviet Union, Australia and several countries in Latin America, plus Canada and Mexico. She quit working in 1988. Following her early retirement, she took several art classes and volunteered for Audubon Society of Portland and Habitat for Humanity, always staying active and giving back to the community.
In 1987, Alise met Wolfgang Dempke, the love of her life. Together they traveled the west with their cat in their RV. It remained a passion throughout their 30+ year marriage. Alise and Wolfgang loved to bird watch and walk in nature. She also loved to garden, made quilts, painted and left a remarkable collection of her wood carvings. Alise and Wolfgang both shared the love for music and the theater. They had subscriptions to two Portland theaters and the Oregon Symphony. Quite regularly they traveled to Ashland to see plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
In 2009, Alise qualified as a volunteer long term care ombudsman for the State of Oregon. She loved befriending and assisting residents of long-term care facilities - especially those residents afflicted with dementia. This remained her passion for about 10 years, until she died.
Alise was blessed with many loving and beloved friends throughout her life. It was a pleasure to have known each of you.
The family would like to thank Dr. Lisa McCluskey and her team at Compass Oncology who helped Alise with her battle with compassion and knowledge. Without their dedicated care we would have lost Alise much earlier. We would also like to thank Providence Hospice and Kay, a wonderful caregiver, making the last days for Alise painless and comfortable to allow her to end her life's journey in peace.
Alise is survived by her beloved husband, Wolfgang; cat, Winnie; sister, Ellen Copeland; brother-in-law, Ed Copeland; sister-in-law, Anne Rubin; five nephews and nieces, Don, Carrie, Chip, Peter and Katie; and five great-nieces and a nephew. Her father, mother and brother Charles predeceased her.
A Memorial service will be planned later. In lieu of flowers donation to the Oregon Humane Society, Raphael House, or DoveLewis Animal Emergency Hospital are appreciated.
Please sign the online guest book at www.oregonlive.com/obits

July 5, 2022...an email from her husband, Wolfgang Dempke:

She wrote most of the obituary herself. After she decided to have received enough chemo which eventually did not cure the cancer, she sat one day and typed busily on her iPad. I asked he what she was typing and told me: “My obituary”. When I replied that she was getting ahead of herself, she smiled and reminded me that I did not know very much about her Detroit and Ann Arbor years. I could only agree because she was correct. I came over from Germany in 1984 and Alise and I met in February of 1987.  

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