Hundreds gathered in Bend to remember couple killed by avalanche

On Sunday evening, people walked from nearly all directions toward the amphitheater in Drake Park. As people got closer, the drone and wail of bagpipes filled the air.

Hundreds attended the public memorial for Terry and Renee Skjersaa. The couple was killed in an avalanche while backcountry skiing in the Central Cascades on Feb. 17.

Rain persisted all day before the vigil, but it stopped before the event. Pink clouds lined the sky as the sun set.

People placed flowers at a makeshift altar, wrote in books, held candles and took turns speaking about the pair.

Terry worked in real estate and Renee was a longtime educator in the Bend-La Pine Schools. Both were outdoor enthusiasts.

The couple are survived by their daughters, Jade, 19, and Ellie, 21. Jade said skiing was something special the family shared. She learned to ski when she was just a toddler, she said.

The Skjersaa family helped pioneer snow sports in Central Oregon. Terry’s grandparents opened the first ski shop in Bend in 1939. The Skjersaa patriarch, Nels, immigrated from Norway in the early 1900s, according to the International Skiing History Association.

Friends at the memorial remembered Terry and Renee for their adventurous spirits, kindness and love.

“It’s absolutely unreal, the magnitude – the impact that these two lovely people had on our community,” said Jason Boone.

He organized the vigil with Andy Fectau and Tim Green.

Looking out at the tear-stained faces of the crowd, Boone said “it’s unbelievable that some people could have so many best friends.”

Terry Skjersaa and Boone were business partners and friends for 30 years.

As the event came to a close, Fecteau played Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” on the guitar and the crowd sang together.

Afterward, a smaller group of friends and family made their way to the Sons of Norway Fjeldheim Lodge to sing and drink in honor of Terry and Renee.

Wade Willers of Portland was at the lodge. He had come to visit Terry and Renee last week on Saturday, he said.

On Sunday, the night before the accident, they all cooked dinner together at the Skjersaa’s house, played music and sat by the fire pit. It was a normal night, he said, full of love and friendship.

“I’m very thankful for that,” Willers said.