Jürgen Eckstein of Newport, OR, died in late October in Albany. Born in Germany and a resident of Hamburg, Cologne, Tokyo, Singapore, LA and, for nearly the past two decades, South Beach, he was going on 78 years old.

Jürgen was a smart, funny, insightful man, a connoisseur of good food and German beer, a fan of golf and soccer, someone who read  and could quote at length German poetry and an extremely generous person. He was widely known as a great party host. As Regional Cargo Manager for Lufthansa, Jürgen was able to travel the world. He made his own adventures, from hitchhiking through Greece to hiking in the Himalayas, to erecting a sculpture at Burning Man.

Above all, he was an unpretentious self-taught artist whose works will be here for a long time to come.  He felt it was up to the viewer to make their own sense of his work, to think about what they were seeing, to “not take it at face value.” One of his favorite quotes was by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, whom Jürgen greatly admired: “The straight line is godless."

Jürgen is survived and missed terribly by his wife of 48 years, sister, daughter and son, and three adoring grandchildren. He is mourned by his many, many friends from Germany to Newport.