Obituary of Darle Driscoll

Darle Driscoll of Veneta died at home after a long illness on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at the age of 68. Darle was born in Springfield on September 23, 1950 to Thomas and Laura (Sauer) Driscoll. He grew up in Thurston and graduated from Thurston High School in 1969. He married Norma Weinmiller on June 17, 1973. Darle spent the next 20 years serving his country in the United States Air Force, first during the Vietnam War while stationed in Thailand, and later as an airplane mechanic assigned to the development of the then–top secret F-117 stealth fighter. Darle retired as a master sergeant. After retiring, Darle, Norma, and their family moved back to Oregon. Darle was the co-owner and operator of Long Tom Feed and Supply in Monroe during much of the 1990s. After selling the business, he spent the remainder of his career as a much-beloved maintenance staffer at the University of Oregon’s student recreation center. Like many Oregonians, Darle loved the outdoors. He tended dutifully to his family’s 20 acres in Veneta and cherished the time he spent hunting elk and deer or fishing for steelhead and lingcod. As his health declined, family and friends gathered with him for one last fishing trip off the coast—an outing he declared “definitely worth it.” In life, Darle loved his wife and children and cherished his grandchildren. He is survived by Norma, his wife of 46 years; his son, Devin (Katie) of Saint Paul, Minnesota; his twin daughters, Erin (Andrew Thurmond) and Megan (Michael) Mancillas, both of Veneta; and his three grandchildren, Dominic, Aspen, and Eamonn. He is also survived by his two sisters, Nita of Springfield; and Narda (Skip) Scott of Marcolla. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Veneta (25181 E. Broadway Ave., Veneta, OR 97487) at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 19, 2019. A private burial will follow at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.