Obituary of Orrin Stoddard

On Dec 29 Orrin “Lance” Stoddard 73 of Junction City passed away at River Bend Hospital from complications of chronic lymphocytic Leukemia. Lance was born on July 6, 1946 in Idaho Falls, Idaho to Orrin Edward Stoddard and Cecilia Ellen Stoddard. He was the oldest of nine children; five brothers, Tim, Kevin, Shannon, Vincent, and Erin; and three sisters, Maureen, Lucy, and Avis. Lance joined the US Air Force after high school graduation in July 1964. After finishing Tech School he was assigned to Adair Air Force Station in Corvallis, Oregon where he met his wife, Carole Brawn on December 12, 1966. they were married 39 days later on January 21, 1967. They had three children: Melissa Grados (Scott), Martin (Kalleen) and Marshall (Elizabeth); and seven grandchildren: Ashley, Steven, Kassidy, Everly, Amelia, Andy and Adam. During his 24 years of Air Force service he was stationed in many places including Colorado where he was an avid hiker. He climbed Pikes Peak three times and several other 14 hundred+ foot peaks. He was a well-known rock hound and enjoyed sharing his collection and passion with everyone. He enjoyed hunting and camping with family; and he cherished every moment he spent with his grandkids. Over the years he received a number of awards including an award for writing. After retirement from the Air Force he earned a bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Oregon. He joined Lewis Systems as a computer programmer and advanced to partner and then owner of the business. During that time he wrote programs to distribute funds from class action lawsuits including the distribution for an Enron lawsuit; a complicated distribution that was very successful. He was a leader in the community and served on the library board, the planning commission and the Junction City council. He was a member of the JC Lions Club where he served as secretary until his death. Lance was universally loved for his warm smile, infectious laugh, and the care and grace he showed all people. He was so loved by his family and was admired by many people. He never met a stranger. We will miss him dearly. Services will be held on March 28th at the Junction City Nazarene Church.