Orvilla Mae Stiles

Orvilla Mae Schultz began her walk on this earth, July 7, 1921, in a rock house in Guilford Township, Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Jesus called her home on May 20. She has an older brother Oral who preceded her in death and a younger sister Donna, who survived her. They are the children of Joseph Lawrence Schultz and Mable Florence Schlichting. Orvilla's mom and dad farmed and were sons and daughters of farmers. Oral and Orvilla walked about 1 mile to a 1 room school house. They had to walk near a creek to get to the school. One winter Oral broke through the ice and was nearly drowned. Orvilla's dad used to have to go to the woods to chop down trees to heat the home and fire the stove. When Orvilla was quite young she wandered up behind her dad while he was chopping with a double bladed axe, she managed to get her face split open when he was raising the axe on his back swing. She was ever so lucky. When Orvilla was in the 8th grade, Evelyn Bahr wanted mom to go to high school with her. They roomed with Adell Girard in Galena. Mom went home on weekends. It cost $.50 per week to buy bread and mom supplied cream and butter to the house (Adell Girard's). In the 11th grade Evelyn got pregnant, and quit school at the end of 11th grade. Mom's new roommate was Adaline Lewis; she still stayed at Adell Girard's house and graduated high school in 1939. Orvilla went to go dances about 2 times a month, generally country western music, Shapeson (Evelyn's mother and Johnny Bourse). Mom and Adaline went to dances in their senior year. Orvilla was not allowed to date until she was 18. About 3 months after graduating, she worked at a taxi stand answering the phone and selling sandwiches for about a year. Then she worked at a restaurant in Hanover. While she was in Hanover she stayed with a couple. Mom's grade school teacher Mr. Bayle, asked her to take the 1940 Census for Guilford Twp. She accepted the job and covered her territory, (Guilford Township) on horseback. After working at the restaurant, Orvilla went to Elizabeth and worked for the Farm Bureau service company on a bookkeeping machine. Mom liked figures. In Elizabeth, she stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Lee Cook (Marie Schultz), her aunt and uncle. Orvilla enlisted in the Marines in January 1943 or April 17, 1944,(there is a discrepancy here!) went to boot camp at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. She was then assigned to the Navy Annex in Washington D.C. where she worked on the only large bookkeeping machine that they had, recording Enlisted Marines and Officers payroll records. Mom often competed in rifle matches and was qualified as a marksman! Orvilla and Blake met in Washington in 1945 and were married April 28 that same year. Orvilla received her discharge on December 20, 1945. In mom and dad's marriage picture the guy, best man, (can not remember name) used to cut dad's hair. The maid of honor was Donna Satchel. When Donna got out of the marines she went to Nebraska, married and they had four boy. After she married Blake they came to Columbus where she got a job downtown and for 8 years worked for a lumber company, D.B.Frampton at a bookkeeping machine. Her office was in a bank building at Broad and High. After Frampton's, she and Blake went to her home in Illinois and they tried farming for about 3 months. Mom is a great mom! Every night, she prepared different meals, and they were always good. She took Home Economics courses in school and of course it didn't hurt her to grow up on a farm and live in a home where her mother was a great cook. I wish I could have another piece of mom's fried chicken, homemade chicken soup, or maybe a piece of grape or rhubarb pie! She was always there to send Joe and myself off to school each day and there when we came home. I guess about the time that we were in the 4th or 5th grade she felt as though she had to go back to work outside her home. So she got herself a part-time job and then told Blake. She felt that she had to have more outside contact or she might go crazy. Her job at Gold Circle was at their General Office where she processed invoices for payment. I believe that she worked there for about 20 years. Blake supported her in most everything that she did. One of the few times I saw her cry was on a vacation to Yellowstone. We were camping somewhere in Kansas, and the wind was blowing. So hard in fact that the camp stove was blowing right across the picnic table. It was upsetting to her that she wasn't able to prepare the supper that she had planned. We ended up having peanut butter sandwiches that night and all was well. Blake and Orvilla used to take hikes up around Mohican State park, and we camped there as well. They both loved to swim and she still swims about 1/2 mile several times a week. She loves to garden, and just be with people. Growing up I used to watch mom and dad kiss each other good by every day when dad went to work and hello every night when he got home. He used to call her "Babe" and she would use the word "Honey". The last several years of Blake's life were hard on both of them. Parkinson Disease took its toll on dad. Orvilla went from having someone to talk with, and share the decision making with to having to do it all. Orvilla, was known as Orvie to her friends and relatives, but to Joe and Blake she will always be mom. A Funeral service 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 24, 2014 at Ascension Lutheran Church, 1479 Morse Rd, Columbus, OH 43329. Burial will follow in Union Cemetery. Family & friends may call from 2:00-4:00 & 6:00-8:00 p.m. Friday, May 23rd at RUTHERFORD-CORBIN FUNERAL HOME, 515 High Street, Worthington, OH 43085 . In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Ascension Lutheran Church in memory of Orvilla.

Orvilla Mae Stiles

May 20, 2014