Obituary: Lorie Michelle Rainey

Lorie Michelle Friedman Rainey, 51, of Sherwood, Oregon, passed away on March 11, 2025, in Tigard, Oregon following her courageous battle with cancer. She was born on April 30, 1973, in Woodland, California, to Dr. Larry and Linda Friedman, and spent her childhood in Yreka, California.

Lorie’s life was marked by her dedication to family, education, and her passions. She graduated from Yreka High School in 1991 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Idaho. Later, she pursued her passion for teaching, obtaining a Master’s in Education from Southern Oregon University in 2012.

Lorie was, above all, an incredible and devoted mother. Her sons, Dylan and Owen, were the center of her world. She cherished them immensely and raised them to be wonderful young men.

Affectionately known as “Mrs. Rainey” to her students, Lorie found her calling in teaching. She truly loved her students and would talk for hours about how she was working with them and helping them learn.  She was a teacher whose students always knew they were loved and cared for, and whose joy, compassion and humor made a lifelong impact on those she taught.

Beyond the classroom, she had a passion for baseball, especially watching her son play and cheering him on. A lover of sports with a competitive spirit, she coached Owen’s high school recreational basketball team for several years.

Before starting a family, she enjoyed skiing, and being a dance team member and softball player for her high school. Lorie also loved hiking, particularly in Glacier National Park with her sons and father, and was always prepared for the bears with bear spray on her side.

She cherished her girls’ trips and spending time with her friends. Lorie also enjoyed dancing, and attending concerts, especially with her best friend, Christina.

Lorie will be remembered for her kindness, generosity, bravery, intelligence, fun-loving nature, fierce spirit, wit, strength, resilience, and patience. She was an extraordinary woman, beautiful inside and out, with a smile that could light up a room, and positively impact anyone she met. She was deeply loved by her family, friends, and students.

Lorie is survived by her sons, Dylan and Owen Rainey of Sherwood, her parents, Larry and Linda Friedman of Columbia Falls, Montana, and her brother and sister-in-law, Kevin and Bliss Friedman of Yreka.

A graveside service will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Yreka, on April 5, 2025, at 1:00 PM. A celebration of life will follow at the Yreka Elks Lodge, with light refreshments.  An additional celebration of life will be held at Mable Rush School in Newburg, Oregon on April 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM.  Family and friends are invited to attend and celebrate Lorie’s life.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Lorie Friedman Rainey Memorial Scholarship through United Scholarship International (USI). This scholarship will support Yreka High School students pursuing careers in education, continuing Lorie’s passion and legacy of shaping young minds.

Contributions may be made in Lorie’s honor to https://unitedscholarshipsinc.org/donate/
or mailing a check to:

United Scholarships, Inc.
P.O. Box 1328
Yreka, CA 96097-1328

Please note, in memo section, Lorie Friedman-Rainey in order to ensure funds go to this scholarship.

sourced: Girdner Funeral Chapel

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