Orve John Troyer

In Memory OfOrve J. Troyer Orve John Troyer, of Milford, died Wednesday, September 29, 2004, at the Sunrise Country Manor near Milford at the age of 85 years 4 months and 30 days. Orve was born April 30, 1919 on a farm west of Milford. He was the fourth of nine children born to Melvin and Mary (Saltzman) Troyer. As a young boy he went to school in Milford until partway through the tenth grade. As a young man of sixteen he went out on his own and worked his way east during the lean times of the 1930's. He worked for sometime in Iowa and finally settled in Pennsylvania for a while. While in Pennsylvania he met the love of his life, Arlene Stoltzfus, and they were married on December 12, 1942 in Intercourse, PA.He enlisted in the Army on June 22, 1942 and served during WW II with the 3rd Infantry Division. By February 7, 1944 he had achieved the rank of Technical Sargent. By this time he had seen many campaigns in Africa and the European Theatre serving under General George S. Patton. Before the end of the war he had achieved a field commission to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He was awarded the Silver Cross, the Purple Heart (Oak Leaf Cluster), Comb Infantry Badge (ETO 4 stars) and the G C Medal.After an Honorable Discharge from the Army at the end of WW II he and Arlene moved to the Milford area. For a time Orve worked for the postal service as a rural carrier. He later did some farming and then in 1948 he started his independent trucking business. He hauled everything from cattle to dog food to watermelons to eggs for the Army. This tenure would last for thirty-five years until 1983. The last ten years of his trucking career was with Crete Carriers. He thought a lot of Crete Carriers and they thought a lot of Orve.When Orve retired, rather than stay in town, he moved back to the country; to the same location that he and Arlene had shared previously for many years. They tore down the old house and built a new house at the same spot. In-between some hunting and fishing and cleaning up the river bottom and cutting wood to burn in the winter, he maintained the life of a gentleman farmer and he was always busy doing something. He liked to travel. He went to reunions on a regular basis. He also went to see relatives on both sides in many different parts of the country. He would get in the car without a map and arrive safely; he was that comfortable in knowing how to get there. Also, during those times Orve and Arlene got to spend the early morning hours out on the back patio having coffee and just watching the birds and wildlife in their backyard. One of Orve's special memories in past years was treating his nieces and nephews to pizza at Valentinos in Lincoln, NE. Orve liked a lot of foods (except cumcumbers, Melvin did not like cucumbers either) and while he liked pizza a lot his favorite meal was navy beans with ham.Orve took reading and understanding very seriously. So much so that in 2002 at the age of 83 he received an honorary high school diploma. He was very happy about that. Orve was a charter member of Bellwood Mennonite Church. He was a member of the Men's group at church and had served as a trustee for a time. He served on the Milford School Board for a term. He was also a member of the American Legion Post #3 of Lincoln and the Seward VFW #4775. Orve is survived by his wife Arlene, of almost 62 years, his foster sons and spouses, Steve and his wife Bernice Kepford, Lincoln, NE, Brian and his wife Rene Utter, Milford, foster grandchildren, Tammie, Neal, Orv Jay, Curt and Andy Utter, Nicki Kahler and their families, brothers and sisters-in-law, Ray and Yvonne Troyer, Correy, PA, Wayne and Doris Troyer, Colorado Springs, CO, sisters, Luetta Brenneman, Tucson, AZ, and Verba Eicher, Milford, sister-in-law, Eleanor Troyer, Milford, brothers-in-law, Clarence Stauffer, Milford, and Frank Hartzler, Goshen, IN, numerous nieces, nephews and a host of other relatives and friends. Orve is preceded in death by his parents, sisters, Edna Stauffer, Viola Stauffer and Moneda Hartzler, brother, Leonard Troyer, brothers-in-law, Uriah Stauffer, Virgil Brenneman and Merle Eicher, and a sister-in-law, Joan Troyer. A Funeral Service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, October 2, 2004 at Bellwood Mennonite Church, Milford, with Rev. Marlin Kym officiating assisted by Rev. Robert Troyer. Interment will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday at Blue Mound Cemetery, Milford with Rev. Barry Troyer officiating. Visitation is from 1-5pm Friday at Lauber-Moore Funeral Home, Milford, and 6-8pm at Bellwood Mennonite Church with the family greeting friends at the church. Memorials have been established and may be directed in care of the family. Pallbearers were Rick and Tom Troyer, Jon Eicher, Larry Stauffer, George Yeackley and Orv Jay Utter. Honorary Pallbearers are Bob Boshart, Dale Fosler, Dick Wells and Pee Wee Policky. The organist, Pam Erb, and pianist, Sue Roth, accompanied the soloist, Charles Brenneman as he sang "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" and "One Day At A Time". The congregation sang "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder".