Julie Doran Whipple

Julie Doran Whipple of Portland, Oregon passed away peacefully at home on July 15, 2023 with loved ones and her faithful dog at her side.

Julie graduated from Lakeridge/Lake Oswego High School and went on to earn dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Linguistics and French from the University of Oregon.  Later in life she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Portland State University with an emphasis on nonfiction.

An award-winning journalist and former member of the International Foreign Correspondents Association, she worked as a reporter in Kenya and Tanzania where she was the East Africa correspondent for the London-based, weekly news magazine Africa Economic Digest.  She also filed stories for the London Observer, South Magazine, Radio France International and Deutsche Welle, among other news outlets.  In the United States, her work has been published in the Christian Science Monitor, The Oregonian, the Portland Business Journal and Portland Monthly Magazine. She was a member of the Authors Guild and PEN America.

A beloved and gifted educator, Julie taught journalism and writing at Pacific Crest Community School in northeast Portland for many years.  Her education career also included stints as an English teacher in Eugene, Oregon, Berkeley, California and Paris, France.

Julie traveled extensively and with a wanderer’s spirit, embracing everything and everyone with an open mind and grateful heart.  She hiked the entirety of the Pilgrim’s Way across Norway and the Offa’s Dyke Path across Wales, kayaked 130 miles of the Columbia River, and explored many off-the-beaten-track places of nature and culture across the globe. Her natural grace, ever-ready sense of humor, and genuine interest in others put people instantly at ease.  And if you were lucky enough to be around in the kitchen when she was creating something fantastic, you would come away thinking no restaurant could do better.

She was a proud member and past president of Sons Of Norway Grieg Lodge, the Portland chapter of a nonprofit Norwegian-American fraternal organization, and served in various roles on its board of directors for almost 20 years.

Julie’s first book, published in 2018, is a nonfiction account of a 1978 airline disaster in Portland and its consequential aftermath titled “Crash Course: Accidents Don’t Just Happen.”  She and the book were featured on KOIN 6 News, KATU 2, KBOO radio, The Oregonian, and at Powell’s Books on Burnside in Portland.

In her last weeks she completed a final book titled “Writing Shotgun: Tales From The Passenger Seat,” a collection of short stories and poems reflecting wonderment and wisdom from her many adventures in life.  Both of her books are available at Amazon, Powell’s Books, and other book sellers.

Far surpassing her many accomplishments, Julie revelled in being a loving mother to her only son and greatest joy.

Julie will rest alongside other family members near Coulee Dam, Washington, her most loved place.  She will be cherished and dearly missed by family, colleagues and legions of friends around the world.