Donald Stathos, the father of the Oregon bicycle law and former state legislator, died Thursday at his Jacksonville home. He was 81.

Stathos was a Republican state representative from Jacksonville from 1969 to 1972, when he backed legislation that set aside 1 percent of all state highway funds for construction and maintenance of bicycle and pedestrian paths.

Since then, several other states have enacted similar legislation.

The Donald L. Stathos bikeway out of Jacksonville was the first official bike path in the country.

"A lot of my memories involve bike riding," remembers Stathos’ daughter Holly Grew of Brush Prairie, Wash.

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Her father, who owned Mission Insurance in Medford, was also a mentor to her, helping her in her own career in the insurance business.

"He always gave me and my sister a lot of advice about our occupations," she said.

Grew fondly remembers vacations she took with her dad.

"We celebrated his 80th birthday in Disneyland with Mickey Mouse," she said.

Stathos’ daughter Jenny Hill, 47, of Wilsonville, also remembers many cycling trips with her father. "We had a bicycle built for two," she remembered.

She said her father dedicated the bicycle paths in person when Sun River opened.

Apart from his interest in cycling, Stathos also sponsored the bill that required refunds for returned beverage bottles, Hill said.

Stathos had suffered from prostate cancer and a bad heart in recent years, but remained a bicycle advocate, having served on the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee for more than 30 years.

Stathos is survived by his wife, Barbara, who lives in Jacksonville.

"She’s the one who was taking care of him," said Hill.

He is also survived by his son, Geoffrey Stathos of Eagle Point; two other daughters, Karen Riss of Central Point and Susan Perry of Moses Lake, Wash.; seven grandchildren; six great- grandchildren; and his brother, Harry.

Stathos, born on April 7, 1924, was preceded in death by a son, Clifford; his parents; a brother, Ashley; and his sister, Lucile.

Former Congressman Bob Smith, who also served in the Legislature, remembers Stathos as an outstanding state legislator.

"He was a sponsor of a bill that in those days was alien to most of us in the state," he said.

Because of Stathos’ support of the bicycle bill, Smith said, "It is very seldom that one person out of 90 in the Legislature can successfully be identified as supporting one subject."

Smith said Stathos’ support helped him in his bid to become speaker of the house. "We got along famously," he said.

Stathos helped launch the Afghanistan and Iraq Needy Children’s Bicycle Foundation.

Karen Smith, Jackson County’s Greenway coordinator, said, "He was a grand old guy. He was really the person the most responsible for bringing Oregon into the 20th century as far as transportation."

She said she would get occasional calls from Stathos, offering interesting suggestions or thoughts on bicycle issues.

"He did a lot for the community and the state," she said. "He was an innovative thinker."

A viewing will be held at noon Oct. 28 at Perl Siskiyou Funeral Home, 2100 Siskiyou Blvd., with a service following at 1 p.m.

After the service there will be a gathering of family and friends at Mission Insurance, 2700 Biddle Road.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.