Obituary of Verlin Odell

Verlin H. Odell passed away peacefully the morning of Apr. 6, 2013, in Beaverton,Oregon. A lifelong educator, travel lover, and wonderful husband, father, and friend to all,Verlin spent the last five decades of his life prior to his recent move to Beaverton in Eugene,home to his alma mater, the University of Oregon, and his beloved Fighting Ducks.Verlin was born as the youngest sibling into a large and close-knit family on a farm inLouisa County, Iowa, and was raised on a series of farms in eastern Iowa. After graduating fromhigh school, Verlin embarked on a career in education that would end up spanning nearly half acentury, becoming a teacher at various high schools in small towns dotted across Iowa. He alsoattended and received an undergraduate degree from Upper Iowa University during this time.Verlin was determined to pursue post-graduate studies in the West and, upon coming outto the University of Oregon to begin work on a Master’s Degree, he fell in love with the PacificNorthwest and decided to make Oregon his new home. More importantly, he also fell in lovewith a beautiful co-ed at the university who was also pursuing her Master’s Degree, LuellaDoggett, who would eventually become his bride and to whom he would be married for 39 yearsuntil she passed away in 1991. Verlin earned his Master’s Degree from the U-of-O in 1955.Verlin and Luella then taught for two years at U.S. Army schools in Stuttgart and Berlin,Germany, taking advantage of the opportunity to travel widely across the European continent.They returned home upon learning that Luella was pregnant with the first of the couple’s twosons, David Verlin, who was born while Verlin was teaching at Reedley College in California.After a short stint there, the family moved back to Oregon, and their second son, Stephen John,was born in Cottage Grove, where Verlin served as Dean of Boys at the local high school.The family moved to Eugene in 1965 when Verlin became an Associate Professor in thePlacement Service at the University of Oregon, and it was in Eugene that Verlin lived until thefinal weeks of his life. Verlin eventually opted to return to teaching at the high school level andbecome the head of the business department at Sheldon High School, where he served on thefaculty for nearly 20 years until he retired. Because of the positive and lasting influence he hadon his students in literally every school in which he taught, even after retirement Verlin regularlywas invited to and attended the class reunions of many of his former students over the years.In addition to a long and distinguished professional career in education, Verlin also wasvery active in various charitable and non-profit activities. He was a long-time member of WesleyUnited Methodist Church in Eugene, serving as a fixture there since he and his family joined in1965. Verlin was also a member of the Emerald Empire Kiwanis Club since the mid-1960s, andserved as Scoutmaster of Troop 100 of the Boy Scouts of America for a decade, leading the troopduring a period in which several of its members earned the very first Eagle awards in its history.In addition to several trips to Europe, Verlin also traveled widely throughout the United States,including to many of the national parks he loved so much, as well as to China and Latin America.Verlin was blessed to enjoy the final years of his life at the Willamette Oaks seniorresidential community, where he forged many rich and loving friendships with both the staff andfellow residents and was also an active participant in many games and activities, including pingpong,shuffleboard, and cards. He is survived by his two sons, David Odell, of Great Falls, MT,and Stephen Odell, of Beaverton, OR, and five grandchildren, Mary, Juliett, Charis, Michael, andJohn. He is also survived by a sister, Neva Garnier, of Fayetteville, PA.In lieu of flowers, the family would ask that any remembrances be made to Troop 100, incare of Wesley United Methodist Church, 1385 Oakway Road, Eugene, OR 97401, or the EugeneMission, P.O. Box 1149, Eugene, OR 97440.