Born in Portland, Oregon on Sept. 22, 1901, Voorhies studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley, and painting at the CSFA under Maurice Sterne. He spent most of his life as a resident of his native city except for travel in Europe and periods of study in the San Francisco Bay area. For three months in 1930 he assisted Diego Rivera on a mural at the San Francisco Stock Exchange. From 1939-57 he taught at the Portland Museum Art School. Voorhies died in Portland on March 30, 1970.