Duff Severe

Published 3:48 am Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Duff Severe

Dec. 1, 1919-Feb. 23, 2004

PENDLETON – Pendleton saddlemaker and leather craftsman Duffin Leon “Duff” Severe, 84, died Monday, Feb. 23, 2004, at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton.

At his request, a private family graveside service will be held Friday.

The eighth of 15 children, Mr. Severe was born Dec. 1, 1919, at Oakley, Idaho, to Lyman Carlos and Ida Myrtle Severe. He spent most of his childhood on a ranch at Egin, Idaho, where he enjoyed working and playing around the Teton Valley.

He joined the Marines in 1942 and served on the USS Helena, a light cruiser that was heavily damaged at Pearl Harbor in the battle of Kula Gulf. The ship was repaired and went on to fight in almost every major battle in the South Pacific. Mr. Severe kept his life preserver to remind him of his survival. His grandson, Duffy, was later born on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day.

On May 10, 1942, he married Hope Hyatt, in a civil marriage; the couple were married again June 16, 1949, in the Idaho Falls Latter-day Saints Temple. They later divorced.

Mr. Severe was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holding the office of a High Priest. Through the years he held many church positions and was devoted to temple work and the support of missionaries. Although his faith was most important to him, he was best known as “Duff Severe the Saddlemaker.”

After his discharge from the Marines in 1946, he served an apprenticeship as a saddlemaker for Hamley and Company in Pendleton. In 1955, he, and his brother, Bill, began Severe Brothers Saddle Shop at Pend-Air Heights.

In 1982, Mr. Severe was one of the 15 original master craftsmen, named National Heritage Fellows by the National Endowment for the Arts; marking him as one of “America’s Living Treasures.” His leather and rawhide art has been exhibited and traveled with the Smithsonian Institution Exhibition more times than any other artist’s in his field.

His work has been widely publicized, but most notably in the January 1989 issue of National Geographic Magazine. In 1990, he was featured on the “National Geographic Explorer” television documentary and he posed for Wrangler Jeans that same year.

He made a special rawhide cane for President Reagan and presented it to him while in Washington, D.C. He was invited to attend President Clinton’s inauguration and Senator Gordon Smith’s swearing-in ceremony.

In 1992 he was inducted into the Pendleton Round-up Hall of Fame. His story has been told on Oregon Public Broadcasting programs and much more. He made saddles for 62 years, and made his last miniature saddle in December 2003.

Over the years, the Severe brothers, Duff and Bill, turned the old barracks saddle shop into the “Hotel De Cowpunch,” a home away from home for thousands of cowboys.

Mr. Severe enjoyed playing the guitar, singing, cowboy poetry and telling a few lies now and then. He loved helping his friends and family and enjoyed taking care of the critters around his house. He loved cutting his own wood and the warmth of real fire with a Louis L’Amour Western novel to read. He loved making things with his hands, from building his own log cabin home and all the furnishings, to the making of his own casket.

Survivors include daughters, Margo Hope, of Salt Lake City, Marti Kay Severe Wardle of Fresno, Calif., Billy Dawn Lohman of Logan, Utah, Bobby Dee Severe of Pendleton, Virginia Lee Severe of Lincoln City, and Kelly Ann Severe, of Saginaw, Mich.; son, Casey Severe, of Pendleton; 15 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and sisters, Rachel Quayle of Salt Lake City, Alvaretta Johnson of The Dalles, Lillian Rydalch of Plano, Idaho, and Myrtle Mortensen of Rupert, Idaho. He was preceded in death by his parents, by five brothers, and five sisters.

Memorial contributions may be made to Pendleton Underground Tours, for The Duff Severe Art Gallery, directly or through Bishop Funeral Home, P.O. Box 325, Pendleton, OR 97801.