R. Orville Egeland, 83, Clarkston

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Roland Orville (Orv) Egeland passed away Wednesday, April 30, 2008, in Lewiston. He was 83.

Orv was born Oct. 23, 1924, in Boise, to Olaf Benhart and Maime May Beam Egeland. He attended Boise schools until his senior year at Franklin High School (1943) when he joined the U.S. Army. He served as a paratrooper with the 503rd in the South Pacific where he was awarded two Purple Hearts. After his discharge in December 1945, he went back and finished his senior year of high school. He met his future bride, Dorothy Loretta Nuxoll, in February 1946. They were married July 11, 1946, in Greencreek, and moved to Clarkston.

Orv worked as a carpenter and foreman for local contractors. Then for several years he was the area superintendent for Sceva Construction Co. In his spare time, he built his first and second homes and he taught apprentice carpentry at Lewis-Clark Normal School. In 1966, he began working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where he became the housing officer for the Nez Perce Tribe at Lapwai. The family moved to Coeur d'Alene after Orv was transferred to the Plummer, Idaho, BIA office in 1976. There he worked for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe until retiring in 1986. Upon "retirement," he was happily passed around as free labor for his sons' and daughters' remodeling projects.

In Clarkston, Orv was an active member of Holy Family Parish and served on various committees. He was a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus, a past grand knight and deputy grand knight. He was active with the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and was a member of the American Legion.

His special passions were hunting, camping and fishing with his family and friends. He was an avid deer and elk hunter. Early on he specialized as the camp cook with his elk-hunting buddies. As his sons and daughters reached hunting age, he took them deer hunting. In their later teen years they were inducted into elk camp when they drew a cow elk permit. The annual family hunting camp was a much-anticipated ritual in his life. His planning for the following year began the day after each season closed. While he started out rifle hunting in the early years, he switched to blackpowder hunting in 1973. He truly loved muzzleloading. Big Daddy "O" hunted until the age of 81.

Orv's early pastimes involved square dancing with Dorothy and the Twin City Twirlers. He loved their trips to the mountains to pick huckleberries and watch for wildlife. He especially enjoyed cooking at the annual KC sausage feed. Orv loved playing horseshoes and competing in card games. Later, he enjoyed traveling and snow-birding to their vacation home in Mesa, Ariz. He was an avid reader of Old West books. Orv was very quick-witted and had a marvelous sense of humor.

In 1999, Orv and Dorothy moved back to Clarkston, where Orv assisted in building their fourth and current home.

Orv is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dorothy; three sons: James William (Margaret A.) Egeland of Salem Ore., Thomas Michael Egeland of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Douglas Wayne (Kathren M.) Egeland of Lewiston; two daughters: Nancy Lynn Egeland Exe of Woodinville, Wash., Tina Marie Egeland Metivier (Stephen P.) of Niwot, Colo.; 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by parents; his brother, Milton Knute Egeland and Olaf Riley Egeland; infant daughter, Sharon Elaine Egeland; and son-in-law, Michael R. Exe.

There will be a rosary service at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, at Merchant Funeral Home in Clarkston. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 10, at Holy Family Catholic Church. The Rev. Thomas K. Connolly will be officiating.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to Holy Family School, 1002 Chestnut, Clarkston, WA; or Asotin County Food Bank, 1546 Maple, Clarkston, WA 99403.

Please sign the online guest book at www.merchantfuneral
home.com.