Memorial service scheduled in May for Coquille leader

KLCC | By Brian Bull

Published April 25, 2022 at 10:46 AM PDT

The late Chief Don Ivy, who died last summer.

Nearly ten months after his death, Coquille Tribal Chief Don Ivy will be formally honored.

Ivy died July 19 after a seven-month battle with cancer. Due to COVID concerns, the tribe held off on an immediate memorial service.

Now Ivy’s life will be celebrated on Saturday, May 7 at 1pm, at The Mill Casino-Hotel in North Bend.

While everyone is welcome, the family requests no photography or recording of the event.

And in lieu of flowers, mourners are asked to donate to either the Donald Ivy Memorial Scholarship Endowment at Southwestern Oregon Community College; or the Elakha Alliance, a group Ivy co-founded to help restore Oregon’s sea otter population.

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Brian Bull

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016. In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional), the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.

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