Unfortunately, there are 2 serious diseases which may show these symptoms: fireblight, which is not very common in Lane Co. and Black rot.  Several combinations of rootstock (M9 and M26) and cultivar (Braeburn, Fuji, and Gala) are very susceptible to fire blight. Trees may collapse without any sign of disease in the canopy. Disease symptoms can be confused with Phytophthora collar rot. ymptoms have been observed around the graft union area. Infection may spread from the collar to the roots or from the roots to the collar. Cankers near the base of the trunk often appear dark, water-soaked, and purplish on the outside. The margin may at first be indefinite or raised and blistered but becomes definite and marked by a crack or crevice later. When the bark is removed, the cankered area may show red-brown streaking. The younger the tree, the more likely the tree will die following infection. Black rot -  Botryosphaeria obtusa, infects a wide variety of hardwood trees, including apple and pear. Infected trees are often a source of infection for nearby younger bearing blocks. Northern Spy, Cortland, Gala, Honeycrisp, McIntosh and Empire are most often infected, although all apple cultivars are susceptible. Fire blight cankers are often colonized by black rot fungus. Limb cankers first appear as reddish or pinkish, brown sunken areas in the bark (Figure 4-146). Cankers often remain small and superficial but sometimes enlarge up to 50 cm in length along the infected limb, killing and cracking the bark. As the canker ages, the wood shrinks and becomes black as the bark peels away from the infected area (Figure 4-147). Cankers on limbs cause the entire limb to die back. Severely cankered limbs are weakened to the point that they may break under heavy fruit loads. Infections on the main trunk, particularly on young trees, eventually girdle the tree resulting in premature death. Diagnosis based on pictures can be quite unreliable although this presents more as Black Rot from what I can see. This is a case where taking in an affected branch to your local extension office to the Plant Diagnosticians is well worth doing. The Lane office is at 10th and Jefferson in Eugene. Hours are 10-1 and 2-5 M-TH.