Obituary: George “Larry” Sohler Jr.

In 1957, Larry married Jackie Cunningham and they had two daughters, Pamela, born in 1960, and Linda, born in 1962. About the same time, Larry purchased an orchard on the west side while still working full time as an electrician. After successfully farming apples, pears and cherries for a number of years, he sold the farm and moved into town. In 1966, Larry married Lorissa (Huseby) Sparks, bringing her three sons, Steve, Ken, and Jeff, into the marriage. Later, Larry purchased Wes Electric, changing the name to Sohler Electric. In the mid-1970s, he sold Sohler Electric to his younger brother, Dick, and purchased a small piece of the family farm and built a new home on it. With the passing of his father, George, Larry went on to purchase the remaining acres of the family farm to begin his farming career again. During the mid-1980s, Larry would generously support the Boy Scouts, inviting Troop 117, among other troops, to pick apples from his orchard to make money for their fundraiser events and did this for a number of years. Later, for a short period of time, Larry tried his hand at driving a truck long hauling to supplement his farming income, but eventually found his true calling in life as a heavy equipment owner/operator. He loved the outdoors and working with the equipment. He had quite an eye for leveling ground and was very skilled at operating his D7 Caterpillar and large Excavator.

Larry loved to tinker on old trucks and machinery. He had quite a collection of what might have looked like rusted out junk to some, but to him, they were treasures. He came about his love of old tractors at an early age, when his dad let him sit in the tractor seat as they were hauling a new cleat track tractor in the back of a truck from The Dalles to Hood River.

After Larry retired, he enjoyed the hunt for gold and in the process purchased a house and acreage along with some gold claims in Granite, Ore. The move to Granite gave him access to many miles to go snowmobiling in the winter and gold digging in the summer, but the only gold he found was his wife Luci Myers Sohler. They married in 2004 in Granite, bringing four children of Luci’s into their marriage, Julia Kay Dungan, Gary Myers ), Vicki Sue Law and Scott Myers.

Larry went on to join Prospectors of Oregon, was a member of the Hood River Eagles and a lifelong member of Hood River Elks Lodge 1507.

For a number of years, Larry also enjoyed being a snowbird, traveling to Bullhead City, Ariz., and later purchasing property in Yuma, Ariz.

At his home in The Dalles, he enjoyed operating his saw mill and working on his John Deere tractors. In the summer months, you would find him out raking hay or driving in the Odell Fourth of July Parade with one of his old John Deere tractors. Larry never lost his desire to work in the orchards, pulling out trees with his equipment or doing other things that required his skills with his heavy equipment and did that up until a few weeks ago.

Larry was preceded in death by his father, mother and sister, Therese. He is survived by his wife, Luci Myers Sohler; daughter, Pamela Rae Sohler (Pete McKillip); and daughter Linda Mae Phillips (Matt Phillips); stepchildren Steve Sparks, Ken Sparks (Cindy), Jeff Sparks (Kelly), Julia Kay Dungan (Chuck), Gary Myers (Jennifer), Vicki Sue Law (John) and Scott Myers (Diane); brothers Nolan Sohler (Catherine), Ed Sohler (Robin) and Dick Sohler (Sandi); sisters Marylou Holoboff and Kathy Franke (Mel). He also leaves behind seven granddaughters, Rachelle Elliott (Nik), Rebecca Phillips (Mat Foster), Katherine Dungan (Val Bunao), Rebecca Dungan, Holley Stringham, Ashlan Law (Manuel Valdez), and Rochelle Horrocks (Aaron); and eight great-grandchildren, Ava Rae Elliott, Myla Mae Elliott, Bailee Mae Foster, Bradley Dean Foster, Raylin Rose Bunao, Mallory Lyla Valdez, Lilyana Sofia Valdez, and Andre Horrocks; plus many, many niec-es, nephews and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations/contributions be made toward the “Larry Sohler Family Trade School Scholarship Fund” (c/o Andersons Tribute Center, 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River, OR 97031), which Larry wanted to establish for any Hood River High School students wanting to learn a trade.

A private Mass for Larry will be held 10:30 a.m., Friday, March 19; due to current restrictions, Mass is limited to family only and will be available to watch live through Anderson’s Tribute Center Facebook Page. A public graveside will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 20, at Mountain View Memorial Cemetery, 1235 Tucker Road, Hood River.

Visit www.AndersonsTributeCenter.com to leave a note of condolence for the family and for live stream.