August 3, 2021 4:30 a.m. 

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners are mourning the passing of County Surveyor Kris DeGroot, who passed away unexpectedly Monday morning.

A release said the Commissioners would like to express their deep sadness and extend sincere condolences to Kris’s wife of 45 years, Kathleen, along with his family, friends, church community and all of the employees at the county.

Commissioner Tom Kress said “Kris was a consummate professional. He was a valued and important member of the County’s Elected Official Team, and was highly respected by his staff and colleagues here at the County”. Kress said that DeGroot’s dedication to his job, and “…his wealth of knowledge in the surveying field will be very hard to replace”.

DeGroot had served as Douglas County Surveyor, an elected position, since January of 2015. He won his first bid for office in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018. The duties of County Surveyor include keeping a fair and correct record of all land surveys made in the county, as well as working on the restoration, preservation and documentation of land corners established by the federal government beginning in the 1850’s.

The release said DeGroot grew up in Douglas County and graduated from Glide High School in 1969. He attended both Oregon State University and the University of Oregon, and received his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the U of O in 1974. DeGroot owned and operated BTS Engineering and Surveying in Roseburg for over 43 years.