Leonard Orville Souther

June 22,1938 – February 5, 2018

Leonard Orville Souther

Len passed away on on February 5th, 2018 of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Services will be held February 13th, 2018. He will be laid to rest with graveside services at G.A.R. Cemetery, 8601 Riverview Rd, Snohomish WA 98290 Snohomish WA. There will be a gathering after the service at Cascade Community Church, 14377n 167th Ave SE Monroe, WA 98272.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Lung Assc. Or the Veterans Assc.

Len was born in Lignite, North Dakota on June 22, 1938 to Orville and Violet Souther. He was the eldest of 5 children. The family left North Dakota in 1950 when Len was 12 years old and moved to Oilmont, Montana where Len graduated from High School in 1956. His mode of transportation in those days was his horse until he got his first car in his senior year of high school. It was a Terraplane made by the Hudson Motor Company between 1932 and 1938.In the winter he was often found to be driving and  sliding around the frozen pond nearby. He also often got caught stealing eggs to throw in the pond. Len was known to get into a bit of trouble as a kid, along with his partner in crime, his cousin Lester Bolberg, who preceded him in death. One story is that when he was 5 years old, Len and Lester asked his dad if they could borrow Orvilles model T to go visit his girlfriend. Well, Orville said yes thinking they were not serious. The two boys went to the garage and cranked that Model T until it started up. Len got behind the wheel and proceeded to back down the driveway right into the slough before Orville got a chance to chase them down.

Anytime Len got a nickel while he was a boy, he would take it down to the hardware store and buy shingle nails. He hammered so many nails into the side of the shed it was almost covered totally in nails.

In 1966, Len was stationed at Sand Point Navy Base in Seattle. It was while here that he met Coralee. She had gave a friend that she worked with a ride to meet her boyfriend at the base. While there, the girls were left alone in a room. Len jumped into the room and scared them both. He then introduced himself. Soon they all were chatting and when it was time for Len to make some rounds on the base, he asked Cora if she would like to come along. He promised he would pick her an apple. Shortly after he noticed her car was not in good shape and asked her to bring it to a service station he was working at. She did and while he was fixing it, he asked her to go fishing. They went fishing but she couldn’t make it down to the creek so he said he would take her where he knew she could catch a fish. He took her to a fish farm where they stock the ponds. Well, she caught her first fish. They dated for about a year and were married on February 25, 1967 at the home of Coralee’s brother Ben and his wife Wanda. They would have been married 51 years this month.

Len enjoyed hunting everything from gophers, deer, antelope, elk and also birds, such as pheasant and grouse. He would go hunting every year to Cle Elum.  He didn’t always bring anything home but he always had a good story or two to share. And he always had a good time.

Fishing was always something he enjoyed doing too and he had many fish stories to tell. He loved telling how he would take his wooden 14 foot boat out into Puget Sound and almost killed everyone on board. Len loved camping and other outdoor activities. Montana was one of his favorite places and often went camping and visiting Glacier National Park.

He enlisted in the Navy on January 17, 1957. His rank was HSAR – Electronics Technician. He served 4 years of which 3 years and 7 months were to foreign and/or sea service. On January 16, 1961 he was released to inactive duty and transferred to the Naval Reserves. On March 28,1964 he was ordered once again to active duty at the rank of ADR3 – Aircraft Mechanic for a term of no less than two years. He served this time at the Naval Air Station in Twin Cities, Minneapolis. While serving in the navy, Len was awarded a National Service Medal and a Good Conduct Medal.  He received an honorable discharge from the Navy. He always loved working on the aircraft and was also an aircraft navigator. He continued loving aircrafts even after his days in the navy. Some of his last day were spent watching the planes from his room at the VA  hospital.

Len had various jobs throughout his life. His first job was picking up rocks in the fields so the farmers could plow and plant their crops. He made 40 cents an hour doing it.  He worked selling pots and pans door to door and as a clerk at 7/11. He was a mechanic at Boeing and also at Metro. He and His son-in-law Tim started Ridgecrest Landscaping and worked together many years. Later he and his wife Cora owned Happytime Nursery in Sultan,WA before they both retired to Snohomish, WA.

Len is survived by his wife of 50 years, Coralee Souther, daughter Bonnie Yunker ( Curtis), son Russell Souther, daughter Brenda Souther, daughter Deana Albers (Tim), daughter Wanda Torres (Mike) and son Fred Tippett (Zinta). He and Coralee have 23grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren, most of which remember him chasing them around the house trying to tickle them. Len was preceded in death by his prarents Orville and Violet Souther, his brother Jim Souther, one son, Paul Tippett and a grandson Garrett Albers.

Len will be missed by all who knew and loved him.