I just received an email from the PR director at Portland Center Stage:

It is with deep sorrow that I relay that Josh Westhaver passed away earlier this week. Josh was an electrician with Portland Center Stage since we moved into the Gerding. He also was a spot operator with Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, and the end of West Side Story. He was a great spot operator, a genuinely great guy, and was taken much too early. Josh had a major asthma attack that led to cardiac arrest that he did not recover from.

There will be a memorial service for him at the Gerding Theater at the Armory on Monday night at 5 PM. Portland Center Stage will also accept donations in Josh’s honor that will be distributed to the charity of Josh’s family’s choice.

What a grim week. My sincere condolences to friends and family of both Josh Westhaver and Terry Toedtemeier.

Alison Hallett served nobly as the Mercury's arts editor from 2008-2014. Her proud legacy lives on.

4 replies on “Another Death in the Portland Art Community”

  1. Jesus fucking christ. That’s two people I know dying in two days. What the shit?

    On the other hand, another friend of mine narrowly escaped death recently, due to some strange interaction of Dilantin and Fresca…Long story.

  2. I have known Josh Westhaver since Jr. High. He has always been one of the nicest people I’ve known. He will be sorely missed. My best to his family.

  3. I’d only known him about three years (we worked for PICA and OBT), but I agree one hundred per cent: he was one of the good ones.

    So was Terry Toedtemeier. That’s what’s making these especially hard to take.

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