Sisters crash victim remembered as avid outdoorsman

A 54-year-old long-time Sisters resident who died in a car crash on Highway 20 east of Sisters over the weekend is being mourned by family and friends as an avid outdoorsman with “big bear hugs” and a warm smile.

Rodney Stambaugh “loved being outdoors camping, fishing and hunting,” a family statement said. “Rod was an amazing hunter. He was always working on a car, something he was also very good at and enjoyed leading the way into racing.”

“Rod loved working and being around his family. Rod’s heart was as big and warm as his smile. His big bear hugs, warm smile and contagious laugh will be missed by all who knew him.

“The family has decided that at this time there will not be a service,” the statement said. “Instead, we ask that you hug your loved ones a little longer and to take some time just to tell them you love them. Tomorrow is a gift, not a promise.”

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Earlier story:

A 54-year-old Sisters man driving on icy U.S. Highway 20 east of Sisters was killed early Sunday when his station wagon left the road and struck a tree, Oregon State police reported.

Troopers and medics responded around 3:30 a.m. to the reported single-vehicle crash on Highway 20 near milepost 2.5, just east of Sisters.

They arrived to find a 1997 Subaru station wagon had left the road, for unknown reasons and hit a tree. The driver, identified as Rodney A. Stambaugh, had died at the scene, said OSP Lt. Bill Fugate. There were no passengers.

The road had black ice at the time of the crash, Fugate said.

OSP was assisted at the scene by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Bend and Black Butte Ranch police, the Oregon Department of Transportation and Cloverdale Fire and Rescue.