Ernest Richard Pickens

Ernest Richard Pickens, Jr. (Rick) was born in Silverton, Oregon to the parents of Ernest Richard Pickens, Sr. (Buck) and Margaret Gertrude Pickens. Rick passed away quietly at home in Sherwood, Oregon at the age of 71 after a four-month battle with an aggressive form of liver cancer. He is survived by his wife Rochelle (Shelle) Pickens, sons Chris and Greg Pickens, brother Kim Pickens, brother-in-law Bryan Jaeger (Lisa), Goddaughter Breanne Jaeger and many nieces and nephews. 

Rick grew up on the Oregon Coast playing baseball, cooking flapjacks at the Spouting Horn, and surfing up and down the coast. He moved to Portland after graduating from Taft High School in Lincoln City. At the age of 19 he started what would be his life’s passion as a home remodeling craftsman. While building a house in 1983, he made friends with an outside lumber salesman, James Alan Peterson, who would introduce him to the woman that would be by his side for the next 38 years. 

Rick and Shelle were married on May 12th, 1984 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Portland, Oregon. Their first son (Christopher) would be born that following year in 1985, and the second would come a few years later in 1988 (Gregory). During that same year (1988) Rick, Shelle, Chris, and bun in the oven Greg moved to Sherwood, Oregon to the Jaeger family home. Building out their lives in Sherwood, Rick would make fast friends with other parents while coaching youth sports. This group would become great friends who would get together regularly long after their kids grew up and started lives of their own.

With family and friends running smoothly, Rick felt it was time to start his own construction business after nearly 40 years working in the field. Sunset Builders was formed in 2005. Under the Sunset Builders legacy are a myriad of projects including new homes and home and business remodels, basement remodels (except his own) and happy customers that usually became friends. It is pretty easy to see the dedication and values that Rick held dear. He was a man that loved his family, loved his friends, and created structures that would stand the test of time.

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