Orville Wendell Veach Obituary (1913 - 2011)

ORVILLE WENDELL VEACH May 24, 1913 - June 14, 2011 Orville was born and raised in Corona, California. His parents were Elzie and Bernice Martin Veach. He was the second of five sons, and outlived all of his brothers. Orville met Elizabeth (Betty) Dixon at the grocery store where he worked. They married on May 4, 1938 in Upland California. Soon, Orville and Betty moved, with baby Virginia, to Riverside, California. They had three children. Virginia Johnson, who taught in Hawaii for 27 years before moving to Tucson in 1998; Joan Elizabeth Camplin, who lives in southern California; and Richard Elzie Veach, who was drafted by the army and was sent to Viet Nam where he died in a helicopter crash. Granddaughter, Kathy Camplin, lives in Pasadena, California, and granddaughter, Juliet Follansbee, lives with her two children, Lauren 7, and Kyle 6, in Portland Oregon. Orville had a long career in accounting. He did payroll for 21 years for a food machinery company, which also made amphibian tanks during World War ll. After that, he worked for the Easter Seal Society in Riverside until he retired. The family started out camping in the early days, when Orville created a unique camping trailer in his workshop. After Orville and Betty retired, they graduated to RVs, and enjoyed that mode of travel for many years. They met many wonderful people during these travels, and Orville was proud of the fact that they visited all of the 50 states at least once. In addition, they traveled to Mexico, England, and Australia. Orville loved to create useful items in his woodworking shop. The RV had many little boxes, tables, and stools that were made to fit their space just right. The tools took up so much space in the garage that the cars never fit. Also, he was a master gardener, especially after retiring. His tomatoes and other vegetables, as well as nectarines and persimmons, were some of the best produced in Riverside. For many years, Orville was active in the Veitch/Veach Historical Society. He and Betty loved going to their annual conventions that were held in different cities. Orville had the gift of hearing a song just once, then playing it on the piano. He loved the Lawrence Welk program, and every Saturday night the family would sit down and eat dinner to the champagne music in the background. In 2001, declining health led the couple to move to the Mt View retirement facility in Tucson, Arizona so they could be near Virginia. Betty died in 2003, and Orville continued to live in the apartment until his death on June 14th, 2011. His stay at Mt View lasted 10 years. He was quite content there and made many friends. He liked to play bingo, play the organ and piano, listen to musical groups that came in, and eat out with the men's group. He liked to share jokes that he had printed from the computer, reading, to the amusement of the staff and residents. He enjoyed reading, working a daily crossword puzzle, and speaking Spanish with the staff. Orville was a gentle, kind, and caring husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. It was a blessing that Orville, the caregiver, was the one lovingly cared for the last ten years of his life by the staff at Mt. View Retirement Village. Happy Trails to you, Orville, until we meet again Vaya con Dios