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Lance Michael Emmons, 34, right, with his wife, Margie, both of Roseburg. Lance Emmons died early Friday morning after being injured when a fight broke out at Joe’s Sugar Pine Inn on Southeast Stephens Street in Roseburg. Police are investigating his death as a homicide.
In the wake of Lance Michael Emmons’ death early Friday morning, family members of the Roseburg resident are taking comfort in some of the last words he sang.
With his band, B.O.K., the 34-year-old lead singer played the group’s song “Circle” Thursday night at Joe’s Sugar Pine Inn.
“Everything’s gonna B.O.K.,” the chorus goes.
“I can hear his voice, and I can hear him singing that song,” said his younger sister, Kelly O’Brien of Roseburg, “and it’s like he’s saying, ‘Stop crying, it’s gonna be OK.’”
Emmons was pronounced dead at Mercy Medical Center at 1 a.m. Friday after being injured in a fight involving several people that broke out shortly after midnight at the bar at 1969 S.E. Stephens Street in Roseburg.
Police have not said what they believe Emmons’ involvement was in the incident. Family members believe Emmons was trying to break up the dispute.
“It wasn’t his fight,” said his wife, Margie Emmons, a registered nurse at Mercy who was at the bar that night and tried to revive her husband.
Emmons’ family members declined to discuss the incident further because they don’t want to interfere with the ongoing police investigation.
Police have provided few details about the case, but say they have interviewed a number of witnesses. The Douglas County Major Crimes Team is assisting with the case, which is being investigated as a homicide.
Police responding to the incident, which started inside the bar and ended in the parking lot, found Emmons with severe injuries to his head and face.
An autopsy was scheduled for this afternoon to determine the exact cause of death.
Sgt. Aaron Dunbar, spokesman for the Roseburg Police Department, said detectives have narrowed their focus down to at least one person of interest, but no arrests had been made as of this morning.
Police still want to talk with bar patrons who were there that evening, but have yet to be interviewed.
“We’re just looking for more witnesses so we can try to piece that whole evening together,” Dunbar said.
Anyone with information can call the department’s tip line at 673-0521.
Emmons had been playing with his band during the bar’s open microphone event Thursday evening.
The performance was the group’s second since taking a hiatus after three of the band members, including Emmons, had babies within a month of one another, family members said.
His wife of 1 1/2 years gave birth to their son, Lance Michael Emmons Jr., in July. Emmons is also survived by his mother, Dotty Randall Stapleton, stepfather Jim Stapleton and stepchildren Tiffinie, Jacob, Ricky and Alyssa “Goose” Logsdon.
He moved to Douglas County with his family and the family business, TMS Call Centers, where he’d worked for 18 years, in the 1990s.
Emmons, who taught himself to play the piano and guitar without the ability to read music, started his first band, Phaded, a couple of years later.
“He’s a very talented songwriter,” O’Brien, his sister, said.
Family members also described Emmons as a fanatical Oregon Ducks fan, a golfer, fisherman and a “consummate family man” who was happy to have a son of his own.
“I’ve never seen a man adore his mother and his family the way that he did,” Margie Emmons said.
Family members say they are grateful for the outpouring of support they have received since Emmons’ death. A celebration of life has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Community Building in the Pacific Hall.
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@newsreview.info.
With his band, B.O.K., the 34-year-old lead singer played the group’s song “Circle” Thursday night at Joe’s Sugar Pine Inn.
“Everything’s gonna B.O.K.,” the chorus goes.
“I can hear his voice, and I can hear him singing that song,” said his younger sister, Kelly O’Brien of Roseburg, “and it’s like he’s saying, ‘Stop crying, it’s gonna be OK.’”
Emmons was pronounced dead at Mercy Medical Center at 1 a.m. Friday after being injured in a fight involving several people that broke out shortly after midnight at the bar at 1969 S.E. Stephens Street in Roseburg.
Police have not said what they believe Emmons’ involvement was in the incident. Family members believe Emmons was trying to break up the dispute.
“It wasn’t his fight,” said his wife, Margie Emmons, a registered nurse at Mercy who was at the bar that night and tried to revive her husband.
Emmons’ family members declined to discuss the incident further because they don’t want to interfere with the ongoing police investigation.
Police have provided few details about the case, but say they have interviewed a number of witnesses. The Douglas County Major Crimes Team is assisting with the case, which is being investigated as a homicide.
Police responding to the incident, which started inside the bar and ended in the parking lot, found Emmons with severe injuries to his head and face.
An autopsy was scheduled for this afternoon to determine the exact cause of death.
Sgt. Aaron Dunbar, spokesman for the Roseburg Police Department, said detectives have narrowed their focus down to at least one person of interest, but no arrests had been made as of this morning.
Police still want to talk with bar patrons who were there that evening, but have yet to be interviewed.
“We’re just looking for more witnesses so we can try to piece that whole evening together,” Dunbar said.
Anyone with information can call the department’s tip line at 673-0521.
Emmons had been playing with his band during the bar’s open microphone event Thursday evening.
The performance was the group’s second since taking a hiatus after three of the band members, including Emmons, had babies within a month of one another, family members said.
His wife of 1 1/2 years gave birth to their son, Lance Michael Emmons Jr., in July. Emmons is also survived by his mother, Dotty Randall Stapleton, stepfather Jim Stapleton and stepchildren Tiffinie, Jacob, Ricky and Alyssa “Goose” Logsdon.
He moved to Douglas County with his family and the family business, TMS Call Centers, where he’d worked for 18 years, in the 1990s.
Emmons, who taught himself to play the piano and guitar without the ability to read music, started his first band, Phaded, a couple of years later.
“He’s a very talented songwriter,” O’Brien, his sister, said.
Family members also described Emmons as a fanatical Oregon Ducks fan, a golfer, fisherman and a “consummate family man” who was happy to have a son of his own.
“I’ve never seen a man adore his mother and his family the way that he did,” Margie Emmons said.
Family members say they are grateful for the outpouring of support they have received since Emmons’ death. A celebration of life has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Community Building in the Pacific Hall.
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@newsreview.info.
