Rock Joseph Sander, a 48-year resident of Silverton, Oregon, left us Tuesday, January 20th, 2026, at the age of 71. After a courageous 15-year battle with cancer and nearly completing treatment at OHSU, he passed in the company of his wife of 47 years, Christy Koop Sander. Larger than life in every sense, Rock leaves behind a legacy of laughter, kindness, and fierce love that will be echoed for generations. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Ed; and sister, Mary Agnes. He is survived by his wife, Christy; his three daughters, Natalie, Monica, and Caitlin, of whom he was endlessly proud; seven beloved grandchildren, Sander, Aidan, Isaac, Xavier, William, Elisa, and Sebastian; five brothers, Louie, Leo, Ray, Bernie, and Bob; three sisters, Joan, Irene, and Dot; eighteen nieces and nephews, and hundreds of others who were fortunate enough to be witness to his vivacious personality and rambunctious presence.

In 1954, Rock was born on January 30th in Tillamook, Oregon to Alfred and Arlene Sander. Rock was the sixth of eleven spirited brothers and sisters. He spent his youth running amuck on the family dairy farm, helping his father (loosely, by his own admission) supply milk to the Tillamook Creamery. Rock attended 1st through 8th grade at Sacred Heart Catholic School and was often remembered for his humor, big laugh, and mischievous antics often at the expense of the priests and nuns. After briefly attending Mt. Angel Seminary for his freshman year, he then graduated from Tillamook Catholic High School in 1972.

Though playful by nature, Rock also possessed depth and curiosity. After high school, he made the decision to attend the University of Portland. There, he was a member of the Upsilon Omega Pi fraternity, briefly served as the university's energetic mascot, made lifelong friends, and met the love of his life. He graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree.

After the University of Portland, Rock held a brief position with Boyd coffee company before returning to Oregon and marrying Christy Elizabeth Koop, a recent University of Portland graduate and second grade teacher at Eugene Field Elementary in Silverton. They began their married life in a small home on South Water Street and quickly embedded themselves in the Silverton community and St. Paul's Catholic Church, where Rock would spend decades serving, singing, and showing up wholeheartedly.

In 1978, Rock began what would be a long career with Portland General Electric, beginning as a meter reader and retiring as a Service Design Consultant in 2015. Among the Silverton community, Rock served several years on Silverton City Council, participated in a number of St. Paul committees, ran the parish youth group with his wife for a time, and sang with the choir in the loud and joyful voice for which he was known. Rock was an avid golfer, a boisterous neighbor, and enjoyed traveling with his wife far and wide to visit their daughters wherever life took them. He loved his girls and grandkids, cheering on the Ducks and Seahawks, puttering around their South Abiqua property, occasionally acting with Center Stage, dining and drinking with good friends, golf weekends with his buddies, raucous Sander family gatherings, stories around a fire, tight breath-squeezing bear hugs, deep belly laughs, nonsensical outbursts of joy, and above all welcoming everyone he met into his merry world of silliness, jokes, and deep un-ending love.

Services will be held Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Silverton Oregon. A funeral mass will begin at 11:00am, followed by the internment of ashes at St. Paul's Cemetery. Following the cemetery all are welcome at the Parish Hall for a luncheon and Celebration of Life, beginning around 12:30pm. If you would like to attend either the funeral mass or the Celebration of Life Luncheon, please reach out to his wife or daughters. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations made in his name to Silverton Area Community Aid or the Father Bernard Youth Center in Mt. Angel, Oregon. Rock will be deeply missed but has left us all with a loud echo of joyful memories that will be treasured as his love and laughter are passed on to others. Bring joy to all you meet, and let everything you do be done in love.