In Loving Memory of Naomi Price

1950 – 2025

Legendary Central Oregon Beekeeper. Mentor. Scientist. Friend. Bee Queen.

COBKA mourns the passing of Naomi Price, a cherished mentor, teacher, and friend whose influence shaped generations of Central Oregon beekeepers. Naomi passed in 2025 following a sudden illness. Her absence leaves a profound void in our community and in the lives of those she touched with her wisdom, candor, and generosity.

Naomi’s passion for honey bees extended far beyond the hive. She exemplified the harmony and tenacity of the bees themselves: quietly powerful, fiercely intelligent, and always in service to the greater good.

Naomi was a cornerstone of our Central Oregon Beekeeping community. She was a prolific presenter at our club meetings, an instructor in our annual Beginner Course, and a longtime member of club leadership. Her influence helped shape our organization into what it is today - guiding us toward becoming a more educated, inclusive, and effective organization.

Naomi also wasn’t shy about challenging us when she felt the club could do better. She held high standards and had a clear voice, always rooted in care for the bees and for the people who steward them.

She not only shared her deep knowledge but also contributed many of the photos, documents, and stories that now form the foundation of our club archive. She was a keeper of bees and history - ensuring that what we learned, we remembered.

Naomi’s path to COBKA began with a bold leap. After 25 years in Bend, both she and her husband Larry built an off-grid home on the rim of the Crooked River Caldera, which they named Valhalla. It was there that her lifelong fascination with insects found its expression in beekeeping, eventually drawing her and Larry into the heart of our club.

As someone with paraplegia, Naomi didn’t wait for others to adapt beekeeping for her. She adapted it for herself. Drawing on years of experience conducting ADA accessibility surveys and working with structural code, she approached hive design with both scientific insight and personal ingenuity.

Naomi’s work with her Valhalla hive expanded the conversation around inclusive beekeeping across Oregon and beyond. In her honor, an ADA-accessible hive platform (based on one of the Valhalla hives Naomi designed) will soon be installed at the OSU Educational Apiary. This project, inspired by Naomi’s advocacy for inclusive beekeeping, will serve as both a teaching tool and a tribute, ensuring that future students of every age, body, and background can experience what Naomi taught us: that beekeeping is for everyone.

Naomi and Larry were always quick to answer the call when a swarm or colony needed help - including honey bee trap-outs, one of the most challenging and time-consuming forms of colony relocation. While others, quite reasonably, charge assessment and removal fees for this specialized work, Naomi and Larry offered their time, tools, and talent freely, motivated by care for the bees and belief that beekeeping is a community responsibility. So many homeowners and businesses across Central Oregon remember Naomi for her calm presence during these challenging situations.

Naomi was also an early contributor to the Oregon Bee Atlas as a citizen scientist, once again drawn deeper into the hows and whys of insect life. Through her work with the OSU Master Beekeeper Program, COBKA and other beekeeping organizations, Naomi mentored countless beekeepers, taught classes, answered endless forum questions, and held us all to a higher standard. She was a lifelong student of the natural world and a teacher to all who came her way.

Naomi was also an amazing artist! Her love for craftsmanship, Scandinavian tradition, and family memory remind us that a beekeeper is never just one thing. This page is meant to collect our memories for her family over time, as a reflection of Naomi’s impact on the COBKA community and beyond. You’re invited to share memories, images, notes, or anything that speaks to how Naomi touched your life.