district constituency predecessor successor birth_name birth_place death_date death_place office state_house birth_date term_start article_title term_end name
13th portland , oregon stephen kafoury ed leek gretchen miller walla walla , washington , u.s. 13 march 2015 portland , oregon , u.s. portland city commissioner multnomah county commissioner oregon june 23 , 1942 1991 1985 1977 gretchen kafoury
 1998 1991 1982 gretchen kafoury
gretchen kafoury

gretchen miller kafoury -lrb- june 23 , 1942 -- march 13 , 2015 -rrb- was an american politician , who served in the oregon house of representatives , the multnomah county commission , and the portland city council .
she served in the legislature from 1977 -- 82 , the multnomah county commission from 1985 -- 91 , and the portland city council from 1991-98 .
gretchen miller met and married stephen kafoury while attending whitman college in the early 1960s .
she graduated from whitman in 1963 , with a music degree .
the couple moved to portland in 1965 , but soon afterward they joined the peace corps , and gretchen kafoury spent two years in iran , teaching english as a peace corps volunteer .
they returned to portland in 1967 , and gretchen kafoury became a teacher at portland state university .
kafoury co-founded the oregon chapter of the national organization for women -lrb- now -rrb- in 1970 and the oregon women 's political caucus in 1971 .
in 1972 , she was one of a small group of women -lrb- also including mildred schwab -rrb- who protested the city club of portland 's policy excluding women members , effecting a change in the club 's policy of more than fifty years .
by 1975 , gretchen and stephen kafoury had divorced , but gretchen continued to use her married name .
she subsequently married two more times , her last marriage ending in 1998 , but continued to use the name gretchen kafoury or gretchen miller kafoury .
gretchen kafoury 's ex-husband , stephen kafoury , preceded her in the legislature , and her daughter deborah kafoury served two terms there as well , including one as minority leader .
she was elected to the portland city council in 1990 , and served on the council from 1991 to 1998 .
beginning in 1999 , kafoury was an instructor at portland state university , teaching classes related to homelessness , poverty , and community development .
she died on march 13 , 2015 , aged 72 , of natural causes at her portland home .
she was survived by her daughters , deborah and katharine kafoury .
