About the Board

The Board licenses and regulates individual death care professionals and the facilities where they work.

The mission of the Board is to protect public health, safety and welfare by fairly and efficiently performing its licensing, inspection and enforcement duties; by promoting professional behavior and standards in all facets of the Oregon death care industry; and, by maintaining constructive relationships with licensees, those they serve and others with an interest in the Board's activities.

The Board's work affects those who have suffered a loss, those who make final arrangements for themselves or others, and those who provide death care goods and services. It is the Board's responsibility to license and regulate the practice of individuals and facilities engaged in the care, preparation, processing, transportation and final disposition of human remains.

The Board has eleven volunteer members appointed by the Governor. It includes seven individuals representing the death care industry and four public members. Board members are appointed for four-year terms. The Board has a full-time staff of six. The Board supports itself through fees from licensing, examination, and death record filing.

The Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer.

Current Board Members

Robert Gaskill, President	Estacada	Embalmer / Funeral Service Practitioner
Ruggiero Canizares, Vice-President	Eugene	Public Member
Nancy Felton, Secretary/Treasurer	Tigard	Cemetery Operator
Kevin Loveland	La Grande	Embalmer / Funeral Service Practitioner
Elizabeth Pacheco	Merrill	Public Member
Debra C. Harris	Portland	Public Member
G Craig Collins	Portland	Crematory Representative
Melissa Porter	Prineville	Cemetery Representative
Angela McKenzie-Tucker	Portland	Cemetery Representative
Neal Naigus	--	Public Member
Vacant	--	Funeral Service Practitioner

Board Officers:

Rob Gaskill, President

Rob began working in the funeral service profession in 1984. At the age of 19, he was the youngest licensed funeral director in the entire State of Oregon. Rob has spent most of his career in Portland and then went to work for Estacada Funeral Chapel and Sandy Funeral Home in 2002. He moved his family to Estacada in 2005 and purchased Estacada Funeral Chapel in 2016. He has immersed himself in the community by serving in various capacities for his church, the City Council, the City Budget Committee, the Arts Commission, and two retirement housing facilities. Rob also serves as the Chairman of Mt. Hood Hospice Board and is the former Chamber of Commerce President. He is really enjoying serving as an OMCB board member and finds it a great learning experience and feels like he has a good grasp on being an advocate for the public and the profession.

Ruggiero Canizares, Vice President

Ruggiero (Ruggie) S. Canizares, PT, MS, MBA, CMPT, is a practicing physical therapist and received his PT degree from University of Santo Tomas, his Master's in Exercise Physiology from Southern Connecticut State University, his Master's in Business Administration from Northwest Christian University (MBA Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society), and his Certified Manual Physical Therapist (CMPT – certified “with distinction”) from The North American Institute of Orthopedic Manual Therapy. Ruggie practiced in various clinical settings including acute care, in-patient rehabilitation, nursing home and long-term care, and in-school pediatrics. He currently owns a private practice that has been operational since 2008 and works per diem as a Home Health Physical Therapist in a local regional hospital.

In 2011, Ruggie was appointed to the Oregon Physical Therapy Licensing Board and completed his second four-year term in 2019. Ruggie served as Board Vice-chair from 2014 to 2018, and as Board Chair from 2018 to 2019. Ruggie has been active in regulation nationally, actively involved with The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) since 2014 as a delegate/alternate delegate and served two terms on the Finance Committee. Ruggie served as FSBPT Treasurer, Board of Director from October 2018 to November 2024. Ruggie continues to pursue excellence in regulation, being involved in learning current challenges and leading practices in regulation in other professions through participating in national and international conferences such as CLEAR, WCPT, FSBPT, and INPTRA

Nancy Felton, Secretary/Treasurer

Nancy has worked in the funeral & cemetery industry for over 42 years and began her career in 1978 at Portland Memorial, where she started in the bookkeeping department. After working various clerical positions at Portland Memorial, she became licensed as a Funeral Service Practitioner in 1986. In 1987, Portland Memorial sold and Nancy became the Manager for Forest Lawn Cemetery in Gresham until 1989, when she became the Manager for Sunnyside Little Chapel of the Chimes/Chimes Memorial Gardens. In 1995, Nancy accepted the position as General Manager of Crescent Grove Cemetery in Tigard and continues to work in that capacity. Nancy has served as a board member for the Cmemtery Association of Oregon from 1992-2010 and 2015-2017, and served as President and Secretary. She served as the Cememtery Assocation of Oregon's liaison wtih the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board for over 20 years. In 2017, Nancy was appointed as an OMCB board member and now is the Secretary/Treasurer.

Nancy resides in East County wtih her husband Wayne; she loves spending time with her family and cherishes her grandchildren.

Members are volunteers serving 4 year terms. Members are appointed by the Governor & confirmed by the Senate. Individuals interested in serving on the Mortuary and Cemetery Board, or any of the other Boards and Commissions in the State of Oregon, can find out more information on the Governor's Website, or by contacting the Board's Executive Director.