Meredith Isom Price

Meredith “Meri” Isom Price, 56, passed away peacefully on August 23, 2026, surrounded by her family, after bravely fighting the injuries she sustained as a passenger in a tragic car-collision on August 11, 2026, in Portland, Oregon, while visiting family. We ask that, rather than focusing on the circumstances of her death, we honor Meri for the extraordinary life she lived, the people she loved, and the countless lives she touched.

Meri is survived by her husband, Kelly Price; her two children, Nicholas Price and Hannah Law-Price (son-in-law, Cameron Law); her mother, Barbara Isom; her father, Jerry Isom; and her two sisters, Melissa Isom and Jacalyn McElhinny (brother-in-law, Daniel McElhinny). She is also survived by her niece, Emma Lucas (nephew-in-law, Mitch Lucas, and their children, Owen, Amelia, and Charlotte); nephews Kevin McElhinny and Luka Price; and her two beloved huskies, Tahoe and Minnie.

The youngest of three girls, Meri was always tagging along on adventures with her sisters, as well as forging her own paths, playing sports, writing and excelling in school leadership positions. At a young age, when she had something important to say, she would place her hand on her hip and state her case. For example, once when her dad asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she announced, with hand on hip, “how do I know what I want to be when I grow up when I haven’t even decided what I want to be for Halloween?” From very early in her life, Meri developed a core group of friends that she met in primary school that stayed with her throughout her life. She had a talent for both making and keeping friends that she carried with her to every place where she lived; she made friends into family, turned neighbors into lifelong friends, and created traditions wherever she went.

Meri was born on April 27, 1970, in Portland, Oregon. She attended Uplands Elementary and graduated from Lake Oswego High School. After attending a single year of college at the University of Washington, she spent a year in New York as an au pair. She returned to Oregon and earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Oregon, where she remained a lifelong and avid Duck fan.

Meri began her post college years in Los Angeles where she lived with her sister Melissa. She caught the teaching bug during her time there after getting an emergency teaching credential to work at Hollenbeck Junior High school in East LA. Her experience there inspired her to return to school to get her master’s degree in education from Lewis & Clark College. Once she graduated, she moved to Florence, Oregon to begin her high school teaching career at Siuslaw High School. It was during this period where she and her husband, Kelly, met at a close friend’s wedding.

Meri followed Kelly to San Francisco where she taught in Hayward, California until she and Kelly became engaged. They returned to Oregon for their wedding and to begin their married life and Meri was able to find a teaching position at her alma mater Lake Oswego High School. Although she loved being back in the Portland area, life had other plans for her, and she and Kelly relocated to Minneapolis in 2002 for professional reasons. Meri took a few years to raise her two children before returning to work starting her own tutoring business and then as a teacher at Totino-Grace High School.

After nine years in Minneapolis, she and Kelly moved their family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She started her community building anew in Pittsburgh, building relationships where she again expanded her definition of family to new friends.

Coming from a sporting background herself, from her high school athletic career to playing adult co-ed soccer, Meri beautifully embraced the role of hockey and lacrosse parent. She spent countless early mornings and late nights driving Hannah and Nick to cold rinks, fields, tournaments, practices, and games, and sacrificed more weekends than anyone could count to make sure her children had every opportunity to pursue the things they loved. She was Hannah’s biggest cheerleader throughout her years playing RPI Women’s Hockey and Nick’s proudest supporter of his time playing men’s lacrosse at Pitt.

Meri had an enduring love of the outdoors, adventure, and the simple joy of discovering something new. She loved hiking, long walks, camping, and being surrounded by nature. She also had a remarkable green thumb—or perhaps simply an unwillingness to give up on anything. She could take a nearly dead plant, rescued from the 90%-off rack at Tractor Supply, and somehow coax it back to life. A lifelong lover of stories, Meri was fascinated by history and loved learning about the people and places that shaped the world around her. She carried that curiosity into her travels; she had traveled extensively in the US as well as to several locations in Europe and Asia. She was always eager to discover something new and to come home with another story to tell. As her children began making their own lives, she looked forward to more travel and adventures. And no adventure was complete without finding a good local microbrew, particularly if there was a sour on tap.

Education was deeply important to Meri, both as a mother and as a teacher, and she never hesitated to sacrifice to give her children every opportunity. That belief became the foundation of her life’s work as an educator. She entered teaching because she believed in helping young people find their voice, stand up for what they believed in, lead with empathy, and make the world a little better. Meri most recently spent fifteen years at Peters Township High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as an English teacher, working primarily with seniors to ensure they felt prepared to enter college, begin their careers, and take on whatever came next.

To Meri, teaching was never simply about English. Her classroom was a place where students were encouraged to find their voices and understand the voices of others. She deeply cared for her students and colleagues, and many of them became part of the extended community she built around herself. She was a storyteller at heart, and she loved stories because she loved people. She wanted to understand who people were at their core, and she would do everything in her power to help them to reach their full potential. Long after students left her classroom, she continued to root for them.

That instinct to care for others extended far beyond her classroom. Volunteerism and selflessness were built into Meri’s DNA. For several years while teaching at Peters Township, she oversaw the Interact Club, a service organization that sponsored blood drives, coat drives, and countless other community events. She carried that same commitment to service into her family life, bringing the Price family together for many Christmas seasons to volunteer at the City Mission, where they served hot meals to those in need.

Meri had a gift for making a place feel like home. She welcomed people around the table for her signature tacos. She checked in when someone was struggling. She listened. She laughed loudly. She told stories—often stories that became longer and funnier each time they were told—and she had an uncanny ability to find something worth celebrating even in the ordinary moments of life.

She was fiercely loyal, endlessly curious, and deeply compassionate. She loved her family with an intensity that was impossible to miss. She loved animals, especially those who needed someone to give them a second chance, which is how one of her beloved huskies, Minnie, found her way into the Price family. She believed in second chances, in showing up for people, and in doing the right thing even when it was difficult.

Above all else, Meri was a mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, teacher, friend, and advocate. She spent her life making other people feel seen, supported, and loved. Her greatest legacy is not one particular accomplishment, but the thousands of small ways she made the lives of the people around her better. Meri leaves behind a family and community who will miss her deeply, but who will carry her with them in the stories they tell, the lessons they share, the people they help, the animals they care for, the plants they grow, the McMenamins Ruby Ales they crack-open, and the countless ordinary moments when they will think, “Meri would have loved this.”

A service celebrating Meri’s life will be held on Saturday, August 29, 2026, beginning at 10:30 AM at St. Patrick’s Church in Canby, Oregon. There will be an additional service and Celebration of Life held in Pittsburgh on November 14, 2026, beginning at 10:00 AM at Holy Rosary Church located at 246 Muse Bishop Road, Muse, PA 15350. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Husky Education and Rescue Team (HEART), reflecting her deep love of animals—especially huskies—and her commitment to rescuing those in need. Alternatively, donations may be made to your local library in Meri’s honor, as she believed deeply in the importance of reading, education, and access to knowledge.

From a young age, Meri was inspired by Fred Rogers, who, when reflecting on how to make sense of difficult things in the world, shared his mother’s advice: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Meri was one of those helpers. She spent her life teaching others to find their voice, stand up for what they believe in, and lead with empathy. We hope that, in remembering Meri, we carry that lesson forward and become the helpers she always believed in.

If you are ever in the Portland area and are interested in visiting Meri, she is buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Lake Oswego, Oregon: 17201 Stafford Rd, Lake Oswego, OR 97034. Her gravesite is on the right side as you enter the cemetery, toward the front and along the outer edge. Her favorite flowers were gerbera daisies.