Obituary: Scheller, Raymond
Age 99
Born July 21, 1914, he was the third of five children born to Mary and Henry Scheller in Odessa, Washington.
He attended a one room schoolhouse during grade school that was located in the country adjacent to his parent’s property.
It was heated with a pot belly stove, and had no running water.
He would carry the water to the school in a two gallon pail that contained a dipper, which everyone drank from.
Most of the families in the area spoke German.
So did Ray, until six years old, when he started school and had to learn English.
When he graduated from grade school, a test was required before entering high school, and he received 100 on his math test!!
Working on the family farm, he drove horse and mule teams.
Later Ray worked in Washtucna and Waterville where he learned how to sew wheat burlap bags and then ran the bagging equipment.
He worked 14 hour days for $1 per day plus room and board.
He met Hilda Nussbaumer at Nellie Scott’s Boarding House in Cashmere, WA.
They were both working the apple harvest.
They were later married and had two children.
Ray served in the Army at Ft. Lewis, then went to work in the Bremerton Navy Yard during WWII.
He worked in purchasing for the Department of Transportation, and secured parts for all of the Navy Yard’s vehicles.
After the war he moved his family to Odessa and farmed, and also built houses for ten years.
In 1955 the family moved to Deer Park where he farmed for another 20 years.
Retiring in 1975, he moved to five acres in Veradale, WA where he enjoyed fishing, gardening and cabinet work.
He had lost track of how many work benches and Aggravation game boards that he had made for family and friends.
He really enjoyed playing pinochle and cribbage until his eyesight no longer permitted it.
Ray was extremely active, even at the end of life.
At the age of 96 he climbed up on his deck roof to remove snow.
Last fall, at the age of 99, he drove his garden tractor, pulling a trailer, to spread bark on his roses.
Fortunately he was able to live in his home until only a week before his passing.
Ray is survived by his daughter, Jan (Walt) Doege; his grandson Kevin (Leona) Doege, and their two children, Melissa and Jeffrey, (thus the “GG Pa”, their Great-Grandpa); also brother-in-law Edwin Nussbaumer, and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife Hilda, son Gary, and two brothers and two sisters.
No services will be held.