Rory Curtiss VanHyning

May 3, 1977 — Jan. 12, 2012

Rory Curtiss VanHyning, born May 3, 1977, was in this day of technology and indifference, a Renaissance man.

He believed in old-fashioned values such as friendship, loyalty, integrity and compassion. He loved words and expressed himself with a vivid vocabulary that often seemed at odds with modern sensibilities, but he refused to compromise his standards and was always striving to expand his boundaries.

He was an avid fan of motion pictures, and had an almost encyclopedic knowledge about movies.

A 1995 graduate of Mead High School in Spokane, Wash., Rory loved literature and drama and was active in school productions. He also loved history and was an ardent student of the American Civil War period.

The photo shown here was Rory’s senior high school class picture, which truly represents the man Rory would become — dramatic, seriously committed, and thoroughly immersed in things that interested him.

Rory joined the United States Navy in 1999 and was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and later at the NATO base in Reykjavik, Iceland, becoming a journalist, radio announcer and later a news reporter. He was very proud of his service to his country, but his love for the Northwest and his family brought him home at the end of his five-year enlistment.

He was accepted into the Morrow School of Broadcasting at WSU and worked briefly for the Northwest Public Radio station based on campus. After graduation in May of 2006, Rory went to work as a radio reporter based in Moscow, Idaho. He later became the news director and enjoyed interviewing local politicians, community leaders and state officials.

He was known on air as Rory Curtiss, and privately his family affectionately called him “The Voice of the Palouse”. In September of 2011, Rory accepted a job at KXLY News Radio 920. He was the producer of the early morning radio news show.

On Jan. 12, 2012, Rory left this world, leaving behind parents, Curtiss and Robin VanHyning of Friday Harbor, and Memory and David Blodgett of Spokane, Wash.; three step brothers: Ryan (Marjorie-Ann Faucher) Blodgett of Greenville, SC., Scott (Julie) Blodgett of Boise, Idaho, and Kevin Blodgett of Spokane, and a stepsister, Rachel Patterson of Friday Harbor. He also was dearly loved by his grandfather, Jim McAnally of Pasadena, Texas, his aunt Susan (Larry) Tomson, and a very long list of relatives and friends.

— Family of Rory VanHyning