<p>Jules "Ted" Bittner</p>

Jules Frederick Ted Bittner was born February 13, 1923, in McMinnville, Oregon, to Omar Newton Bittner and Daisy Elma (Wilson) Bittner. He was surrounded by his family when he died peacefully of natural causes in Beaverton, Oregon, on February 7, 2012.  

Jules was raised in Northeast Portland. He recalled a lively childhood of playing fast pitch softball, Boy Scouting, riding his bike and the occasional thrill of sledding down NE 39th when Portland saw snow. He attended Alameda Grade School and graduated from U.S. Grant High School in 1941. After high school Jules attended Harvard University for one year but returned to Oregon because his father became ill. He then attended University of Oregon, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi and graduated with honors in 1945. 

He joined the Navy in 1945, but his service was deferred so that he could attend medical school at OHSU. Jules graduated from medical school in 1947 and then completed his residency at OHSU in internal medicine. There he met a smart, attractive and witty nursing student named Vida Mae Everts, who also happened to be a Grant High School graduate. In 1948 they were married. 

Following his residency, Jules served his active duty with the Navy during the Korean Conflict from 1950 to 1953. He was a doctor on board a ship that transported troops from the West Coast to Korea. He continued in the Naval Reserves and retired with the rank of lieutenant commander.  

In 1953, Jules and Vida moved to Pendleton, Oregon, where he practiced internal medicine.  Jules and Vida lived in Pendleton until last year, when the couples failing health prompted them to move to Portland to be closer to family. Jules and Vida enjoyed 63 years of marriage. 

Jules is survived by his wife Vida, and their three children: daughter Barbara (Tom) Richardson of Liberty Lake, Washington; daughter Nancy Bittner of Edmonds, Washington; and son Tom (Carmen) Bittner, of Portland. He had 5 grandchildren: Erin (Jeff) Lane, Sara Richardson, and Joseph, Alex, and Ana Marie Bittner. 

He was an active Rotarian and gave a lifetime of service to many other professional and community organizations including the Pendleton School Board, Pendleton Foundation Trust, and St. Anthonys Hospital. For leisure he enjoyed backpacking (he was the camp cook a skill he was never able to transfer to the kitchen at home), downhill skiing, and occasionally catching a fish.  In retirement he especially enjoyed cycling, gardening and Sports Center. He will be remembered as an excellent physician who was much loved by his patients for his warmth, humor and reassuring touch.

He will be buried with full military honors at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, February 13, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. Memorial donations can be made to Pendleton Foundation Trust, P.O. Box 218, Pendleton, OR 97801 or http://www.pendletonfoundationtrust.com. Funeral arrangements made by Riverview Cemetery Funeral Home.