OBITUARIES.

Joseph J. Truncer, of Medford, N.J., died Tuesday, October 10, at the age of 93. He was the director of the state department of parks and forestry, retiring in 1975 after 43 years with the state. He was a graduate of Syracuse University College of Forestry and a licensed land surveyor.

Surviving are his wife of 69 years, Ruth Carlson Truncer; a son and daughter-in-law, James J. and Ramona Truncer; a daughter and son-in-law, Judy and Tom Watson of New York; two sisters, Helen Atkinson and Betty Sanders; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In 1947, Truncer was transferred to the Trenton Office of the Department of Conservation as assistant director of state parks and forests. After the state gained title to the 100,000-acre land of Joseph Wharton in the Jersey Pines, Joe was chair of 10 state agencies to make plans for its future use. He became director of state parks and forests in 1966 and also served on the Merger Committee when NRA, AIPE, AAZPA, and the National Conference on State Parks agreed to merge and become NRPA.

Known as the "grand dame" of Portland parks, Dorothea M. Lensch died on July 27, 2000 at the age of 92. Lensch was a Portland native who circulated as comfortably among the upper crust as she did among low-income families for whom she fought to expand recreational opportunities. She was the city's first recreational director, serving from 1936 to 1972. During her tenure, the city increased its number of community centers from two to 18, and she lobbied for adding many nontraditional facilities such as the Community Music Center, Pittock Mansion, and the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. Lensch also introduced summer outdoor concerts to Washington Park.

Lensch was born Oct. 5, 1907, in Portland. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's degree in physical education and later earned her master's from Wellesley College and a doctorate from Oregon. "She was a huge, huge figure for Portland parks, and she always will be," said the Parks Bureau's deputy director, David Judd. Lensch received numerous awards for her efforts, her most recent was her induction this year into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.