Robert Ormin Weese

Robert Ormin Weese died on December 17, 2015 at his home in Portland, Oregon. Born on April 8, 1931 in Gillette, Wyoming, he was 84 years old. He was pre-deceased by his wives, Virginia Ruth Lytle and Suzann Helen Strutz, as well as his daughter, Rose Marie Weyand. Surviving Children are: Kat (Kathy) Weese of Vancouver, WA; Robert R. Weese (Jeanett) of Gresham, OR; Rhonda Peterson of Vancouver, WA; Terry Peterson of New Jersey, and Brian Weese of Portland, OR; nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Services will be held on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at Gateway Little Chapel of the Chimes.

U.S. Army Veteran, Cpl. Bob Weese served in Korea when he was only 17 years old. He had to have parental permission to do so, but apparently he got it. Bob was a Combat Airborne Infantryman while serving. He was awarded several medals for his service, including the following as listed on his DD214:

Occupation Medal Japan

UN Ribbon

Combat Infantry Badge Parachutist 1 SO 181 HQ 31st Inf AFO 7 18 Oct 50

Korean Service Medal

UN Defensive

UN Offensive

Chinese Communist Forces Intervention

Good Conduct Medal GO 14 HQ Ft Lawton Wash dtd 11 Sep 51

While serving in Korea, Bob had frostbite in his fingers and feet, and he felt the effects of those maladies right up to the time he passed as ongoing reminders of his service to his Country.

Bob was a very hard working man. He retired from Owens Illinois with well over 30 years of service beginning in 1954. (He actually stayed longer than he had to waiting for his wife, Sue, to also retire – he knew if he didn’t, she’d have had “Honey Do” lists for him every day!) He rose through the ranks at the Plant and was a member of management when he finally retired, working straight days, Monday through Friday. After all those years of working rotating shifts and changing shifts each week, he had a difficult time transitioning to “normal people hours” but he did finally adjust. Of course, since Sue continued in shift work, she insisted that he do all of the grocery shopping as well as other daytime tasks. That was a whole new learning curve for Bob who brought home all kinds of foods we didn’t need or use because “they were on sale.” It took a while but he finally got it – if it wasn’t something Mom would cook, it didn’t matter how much it was on sale, don’t bring it home!

Bob loved his family and worked steadfastly for them every day. One time many, many years ago when he got into some trouble and temporarily lost his driver’s license, he rode a bicycle all the way from Milwaukie, Oregon to the Owens plant in Parkrose, Oregon in order to get to work. He did it because it was what had to be done to support his family and because he was scheduled to be at work. And if he was scheduled to be at work, then he would be there no matter what.

There were probably many hard times over the years, especially when the family expanded to six children, two adults, sometimes a housekeeper and an assortment of dogs over the years. Through it all, Bob just always went to work and did what he had to do to keep those paychecks rolling in and keep his family fed and taken care of. He was well known for always giving at least 110 percent – all the time, every day. If you were one of his children who worked at Owens, you had a very hard row to hoe being “Weese’s kid” and not just because he set such a high work ethic example. You could also count on him and Mom finding out if you called in sick or did something you shouldn’t at work, and she would be on the phone trying to get to the bottom of it. And if you made Dad look bad, well, that was just not acceptable and it had better not happen ever again!

If you ever needed anything, Bob was the guy to go to. Whether it was a few bucks to tide you over until payday, emergency car repairs or a tow from where you were broken down, or someone to help you move into a new place, he was the man to call. Even after he got arthritis in his spine, he insisted on helping. He’d be the first person there and the last one to leave. And he worked circles around younger people! He just wouldn’t stop until the job got done.

Bob wasn’t usually a very talkative man. He only spoke when he had something to say. And until he got to know you, that wasn’t much. But once you passed that “known only to him” test and became his friend or a part of his family, you were there forever and subject to being kidded or insulted with the best of them. He only bothered to talk BS with those he genuinely cared about. Otherwise, you pretty much got cut and dried, one or two word comments.

He didn’t smile unless he had a reason either. But when you got one of his smiles bestowed on you, you not only saw it, you felt it. They were hard won and worth every bit of effort it took to get them. Bob never said much about how he felt about you, but if you got one of those rare smiles, you knew you did something good. And chances are, especially if you were one of his children, while he wouldn’t say anything to your face, he’d be bragging about you to his friends whenever you weren’t around!

Bob Weese was a faithful, loving and devoted husband. He was a firm, fair and consistent father to all his children. Bob was a friend you could count on no matter what. And most of all, Bob was a rock solid individual who was always there when you needed him. He will definitely be missed by those whose lives he touched in big ways and small ones. And especially by his children who loved him.