Stories of Doug Booster: A Life Well Lived by shea booster

2025-02-06 03:45:01 UTC

3 incredible guys! Doug always said this was the best photo ever! Sorry, I ran over your foot, Doug!!💜💜

2025-02-16 22:36:19 UTC

I only got to meet DB later on; as a transplant to Bend in 2004, it wasn't until about 2015 or so that I met him, at Lava Ridge, where Kasey and our son went. I recognized him immediately, and went up to him, dropped to a plank, and did pushups for him. He loved that.

Actually, that's a lie, I think. My dear buddy Jenny and emceed a COCC event where Doug was the main speaker. We did burpees, and he loved that, too. ♥️

2025-02-17 00:47:00 UTC

My husband and I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Doug but after what we saw and heard today, we realize we know him. Conner embodies so many of Doug’s traits! Doug has passed on his storytelling, his inspirational quoting, his love of family, and his generosity to Conner. We love Conner and Kersey!

Mike also went to school with Kenny at OSU. Kenny was the life of the parties, including many on the dock at Ochoco Reservoir. Although he didn’t know Doug, he “knew” him through Kenny. Those Booster Boys are Legendary!

Mike and Christine Kasberger ❤️

2025-02-17 01:10:45 UTC

Knew Doug for Many decades and the stories were always classic, but it was how he made you feel that mattered. He made you feel like he was the luckiest guy you ever met. More importantly he made you feel like the luckiest, most important person in that moment. That was a skill, but also just who he was! We were all lucky to have known him and the world was fortunate to have had him for as long as we did!

2025-02-17 01:21:45 UTC

I know sally from work and have meet Doug a handful of times which after the first meeting i felt like I had known him my whole life. Doug and Sally were the life of the party at my wedding, where they had brought their own stash of single shot fireball shots with them the whole night!

2025-02-17 03:20:40 UTC

I met coach Booster in 1986 at Philomath high school. He was my position coach and mentor. We were in a small school, working class community, and he knew how to connect with us. He was a key part to me going on to playing in college, receiving honors in high school, and developing goals beyond sports and into life. I had the honor and pleasure to bump into coach and his beautiful wife then family. Always a smile and kind/encouraging word. I last saw him hi Prineville where he bought me a beer asked to take a photo together, introduced me to Connor, texted me that photo, and told me to look for him again. What an honor, privilege, and pleasure to know him and ultimately call him a friend

M. Espinoza

timneri — 2025-02-17 03:24:49 UTC

I first met Doug in 1991 as a student...I puked in his Total Fitness class too many times to count! I took several Health and Human Performance classes from Doug as well. Doug, (Super)Dave Thomason and I also spent a good amount of saddle time together on loooooong mountain bike rides as he helped to grow my love for the sport.

Over the years I would see Booster here and there and he would always be interested in an update. He would also let me know when he got a new truck! The first time I heard about a "new" truck we walked out of the grocery store (seems like that was the place we connected most often) and I scanned the lot for a shiny new truck. It was then I realized his new truck was simply new to him. He loved having an older truck, it was just his style!

Well after I had known him for some time he became involved with teaching and developing leadership courses for the Fire Service. While I did complete my degree in Health/PE that started with Booster's classes, I ended up in the Wildland Fire service and I knew this was a perfect match. I just cannot imagine anybody more suited to address the whole person when leading these courses.

Doug influenced me as a college student, an athlete and in the Fire Service across three decades! Today I saw faces from all of those eras of my life and felt the power of positivity Doug has impressed upon all those people! I saw Doug most recently last year at Mountain View Football and Basketball games hawking 50/50 tickets. That was Doug, always pitching in to help!

2025-02-17 19:06:20 UTC

I only met Doug a few times over the years, our families criss- crossed in little league then kids went to different high schools. My first interaction with Doug was watching Shea and Jeremiah playing baseball in little league... maybe 8 or 9 year olds? We were both in the outfield, leaning over the fence. He told me about his experience coaching and how he knew when he didn't 'need' to be the coach. He was humble enough to just be the dad in that setting. And, it was apparent he loved his family even in the briefest of interactions. I worked with Sally at the hospital and loved hearing stories about the kids and Doug in the hallways. She always wanted to know how my kids were doing. My oldest, Ben, overlapped with both Connor and Maddie in various activities despite being at BSH. My heart aches with you as you navigate the loss of a truly remarkable human!! His impact will live on in each of you and our community. Blessings!!♥️🙏 (Sally, I'd love to go for a walk some day, I'm sending my phone number to Shea via Facebook) Theresa Kramer

2025-02-17 20:03:49 UTC

Booster obviously loved his family, his friends, his Beavers, but don't forget, he also loved whoever was playing against the Ducks.

Booster and I had a running bet while we taught at COCC for every Civil War game. It rekindled in the past few years.

The last correspondence from him came on Jan 1, 2025 while my Ducks were getting crushed by Ohio State.

He wrote,

"Hey Charlie, we're having WiFi trouble and can't get the game. How are the Ducks doing." I won't repeat my return text, but I can hear his laugh as he sent that message.

I'm still in disbelief and am going to miss him terribly. My heart goes to his family as he was always family first. RIP Booster.

2025-02-18 18:39:26 UTC

2025-02-19 00:43:50 UTC

Like many people, I met Doug at Mazama. Also, like most, I remember long conversations and stories about Doug's OSU days and more. One memory that always stuck out was doing relaxation techniques in Sports Psychology. I fell asleep. After waking up, I looked at Booster and he had a big.smile on his face. Going back to class, Doug came up to me and said, "I guess it worked!" There's so many other memories, like pulling Shea on a heavy bag during a sprint workout, seeing the Boosters getting evening basketball practices in. While the time at Mazama was only a few short years, Doug has had a lasting effect on my life. I am very grateful for those years. God bless, Booster family.

2025-03-17 15:51:03 UTC

My family and the Boosters were friends from the Methodist Church in Corvallis. I went all through school with Kenny. I knew Doug a little bit at Corvallis High where he was popular, warm, and funny.

On behalf of the Kingsburys, I wish Doug's family comfort and peace as they're missing him. We are holding you in prayer.

Grace Kingsbury Ruddy

2025-04-11 21:34:20 UTC

Doug and Kenny shared so many beautiful qualities—kindness, thoughtfulness, and a deep sense of love—that I’ll forever cherish. Every time I saw Doug, I walked away with a meaningful moment or a memory I held onto. He reminded me so much of Kenny, and that resemblance brought me a sense of comfort that’s hard to put into words.

One memory that will always stay close to my heart is from my wedding day. Losing Kenny was incredibly hard for all of us. I had always imagined him being there on such a special day, and not having him physically present brought up so many emotions. I missed him deeply. But even in his absence, I felt him with me.

The day after the wedding, I opened one of our cards and found a message signed by Kenny. Doug had written and signed it on his behalf, and it was so personal and heartfelt that it brought me to tears. That small but deeply thoughtful gesture meant the world to me. It was just one example of how Doug carried Kenny’s spirit in everything he did—and how deeply he cared.

Doug and Kenny had this rare, genuine ability to make people feel seen, loved, and supported. Their selflessness and warmth left a mark on everyone who had the privilege of knowing them. I think about them often, and they continue to be powerful reminders for me—to slow down, reflect, and lead with intention, gratitude, and kindness. To think about the kind of impact I want to have on others, just like they did.

Doug was an incredible person, and I feel so lucky to have known him. I’m so deeply sorry for your loss. You’ve all been through so much, and yet the strength, love, and grace you continue to show is truly inspiring. From now on, every time I see a rainbow, I’ll think of both Kenny and Doug—two beautiful souls watching over us. I’ll keep looking up, knowing they’re sending love from above. Love you Booster family ♥️

2025-04-11 22:00:54 UTC

Late night cereal sessions around the kitchen island - I remember him telling me, “start your day with cereal, end your day with it”. Every time I have a bowl, I immediately think of him.

Doug’s 60th at the Senior Center, I’ve never been in a room filled with that much laughter, love and terrible dance moves.

Sitting around the fire pit, sharing stories, roasting mallows - but by far, the best fire pit hang was after Maddy & Ian’s wedding. Doug was passing a celebratory bottle around the circle, hounding everyone to take a swig and followed by a good teasing for the faces that were made.

Speaking of teasing, my favorite story to watch Doug tell was the story of “The Deer vs. the Mini Cooper”. He would reenact the boys stomping down the driveway to take care of business and then the immediate horror on their faces when the deed was done. The bets storyteller!

2025-04-22 19:48:40 UTC

I always remember walking to the Booster families tailgate party before Oregon State football games to have a fireball with Doug and my Dad, even mom would occasionally have one. Beaver games will never be the same but so incredibly fortunate for all the times we got to spend with Doug

-Weston Baldwin

2025-05-01 16:43:43 UTC

Growing up in competitive sports, I had become accustomed to conditioning and cross training being presented as a punishment. A consequence for losing a scrimmage. The slowest runner having to add extra laps. I began to detest the workouts and felt discouraged as I did often struggle in the endurance category.

When Doug became our strength and conditioning trainer for basketball- he was PUMPED! And I was TERRIFIED. A conditioning coach so excited must be ready to inflict some serious pain right?? Well, it was true that Doug wanted to put us to work AND he framed exercise in a new way for me. Doug is empowering. Doug lifted us girls up. We got to train in a framework that encouraged team building, inspired leadership from everyone on the team, and did not punish us. I started to look forward to the challenge of Doug’s part of practice. Thank you Doug for the joy of exercise and the joy in getting your butt kicked and getting back up empowered. A life of activity hinges on the joy of it- thank you Doug ♥️

Thank you Doug and Sally for the gift of Maddy Boo. A teammate who seriously competes and puts in such incredible effort and skill. A teammate who saw my strengths and lifted me up and created space for me to lead in my own ways. A seriously amazing best friend! She shines light on all of us, just like you do, Doug! I love her for it.

I just told Kasey yesterday that I hate cardio… today I decided to jump rope for a couple minutes and maybe do a plank. I just kept thinking of Doug (you all know it), “you can do anything for 2 minutes”. And 2 became 4, 6, 8, 10- hey let’s make this a fun ladder workout. Heck yea this rocks! And I can just hear Doug’s chuckle and him saying “that’s awesome”.

Such a great time growing up at the Booster house. Always fed with the best berry smoothies, BBQs, Sally’s salad, and a hot cup of tea. Encouraging Kasey to dress up and dance and say the goofiest things to bring out Doug’s big laughs.

We love you Doug! Your joy and empowerment to persevere is forever. We miss you so much!