Orville Leslie Passley was born January 24, 1911 in Purcell, Missouri, and died August 14, 1993 at Arcadia Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, California. He spent the last six years of his life living with Mom and Dad, but after his death, his body was flown to Missouri, to be buried next to his wife Katheryn.
We caravaned from California to Missouri to attend the service. We took the Olson Plymouth van and Rick's Pathfinder, with Mom, Dad, Sue, Rick, Jeri, Orin and Sara. alternating drivers so that we reached Missouri in about 36 hours. Becky & Ralph were in Mexico on vacation, so Becky took a bus from there, while Mike flew from California. A few days after the service, Jeri, Orin, Becky, Mike and Sara headed back to California in the van, while Mom, Dad, Rick & Sue moved on to Minnesota in the Pathfinder. We had extra time to travel & visit with Dad's family, which was a comfort to all of us.
Grandpa Passley was remarkable in many ways. He worked as a lead and zinc miner in his early years; also after 1948 when the mines closed, he was a paid uranium prospector briefly. When he developed lung disease from his time in the mines, he continued to help raise his family, farming and hunting to keep food on the table. He always had a garden, both in Webb City and Alba. He knew the local birds and wild plants. He was very interested in conservation efforts in Missouri as a member of the Missouri Conservation Society.
After his wife's death, he had his buddies over to the house for poker. He and his siblings were estranged from their father, after Marshall left their mother for another woman. It could have made him bitter, but he loved his wife and kids. He didn't differentiate between his genetic kids and his daughter who was fathered by another man before he married Katheryn.
When he moved to California in 1986, the grandkids out here finally got to know him better. Dad took him fishing at the Peck Road recreational lake and at Santa Fe Dam. He played poker and dominoes. He enjoyed talking to the other house guest Hugo. Every Monday night, while Dad was bowling--often taking Hugo with him--Jeri would come over for dominoes with Mom and Grandpa.
When he became weaker, Dad physically cared for him like his father--they became very close. Grandpa wasn't a churchgoing man. He did have a lot of seeds planted here in El Monte. Our belief is that he accepted Christ as his Savior before his death.
In loving memory of Grandpa Passley on Father's Day, 2015.
