Arvid Victor Portin lost his courageous 7 month battle with Pancreatic Cancer on April 6, 2014, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Seattle, WA on November 21, 1934, to Frank and Anna Marie Portin. They built their family home on Beacon Hill in Seattle, where 4 generations of the family lived throughout the years.

Arvid attended Cleveland High School where he met Mardell Sletten (Mardie), whom he continued to write letters to while he was away at college. He attended Washington State College (now WSU) and the University of Washington. They married May 7, 1955, celebrating over 58 wonderful years together.

He began working for Pacific NW Bell in 1955, the start of a life-long career in telecommunications. During his time with PNB, he was called into service in the United States Army, serving at bases in New Jersey, North Carolina, and overseas in Okinawa Japan. Throughout his time in the service, he specialized in radio communications. He retired from AT&T in 1992, but continued to lend his expertise in communications to the FAA as a consultant.

In the early years, dad did some elk and bird hunting, however, his true outdoor passion was fishing, a love which he shared with friends and family. With a young family, vacation destinations were often on the lakes in Eastern Washington fishing for trout. As the kids got older and the boats bigger, it became all about salmon! With encouragement from a good friend, dad began a 32 year love affair fishing the ocean from our home port of Westport, WA. Eventually, it wasn't enough just to fish during the sport season. Dad bought a commercial salmon license and joined the troll fleet off the Washington coast. His son Mark was his constant partner in his fishing business, and they loved nothing better than running about the ocean in their boat, the "Mardie P." He made many friends during his days of fishing who continued to be dear to him throughout his life.

When he wasn't fishing or looking after his extended family, he and Mardie enjoyed traveling. Travel included visits to cousins in Sweden, Finland and Norway, as well as family history in Wales, Scotland and the UK. Mom and Dad enjoyed cruising and made trips through the Panama Canal, Mediterranean, Mexico, Caribbean, and twice to Alaska. After buying their motorhome, one of their first trips, was with good friends Bob and Dharlene, to Alaska via the Al-Can Highway, traveling 7000 miles in 7 weeks. Other travels included many of the National Parks in the West as well as being Snowbirds in California and Arizona. Dad's love of photography and cameras always brought back great pictures of these adventures, which he shared with family and friends.

Arvid was a dedicated father who committed time to be with his children growing up. He was a youth soccer referee for many years, as well as a leader in the local Boy Scout troop. He accompanied the boys on many of the high adventure outings, including 50 mile backpack and canoe trips, as well as the 300 mile bicycle adventure. He was extremely proud of the fact that both of his sons, Mark and Bill, and three of his grandsons, Christopher, Stephen, and Ryan, achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.

In his retirement, he was a member of the Telephone Pioneers, dedicating time and efforts to community service. One of his favorite projects was "Readers for Life", where he provided books for school-aged children, encouraged a love of reading, and helped to further their education. Dad was dedicated to the values of education, encouraging his children and grandchildren to continue their studies and attend college. He was very proud that all 3 children were college graduates, and was also able to celebrate his oldest grandchild, Christopher, achieving a college degree this year.

He was active in his community and was a founding member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Newport Hills. Dad was a member of the YMCA and participated regularly in weekly exercise classes for many years. In addition, he was a life member of the Elks, following in his uncles' and grandfather's footsteps. Arvid was a UW football season ticket holder since 1955 and spent many Saturdays cheering for the Huskies.
He will be remembered by his many family and friends as a caring, kind, compassionate, intelligent, wise, loyal, and wonderful gentleman (Han var en hedersman). In addition to his big heart, he had a sense of humor and goodness about him, as well as an honest soul. He was a charming man whose great love for his wife was recognized by all.

He is preceded in death by his father, Frank Arvid Portin, and mother, Anna Marie (Mack). He is survived by his wife Mardell (Sletten), daughter Sharyl Bergerud (Clark), sons Mark (Lisa) and Bill (Roselle), and sister Sandra Mock (Harry). He was also blessed with seven grandchildren Christopher, Sarah, Stephen, Ryan, Sonja, Andrew and Amelia, as well as many extended family.