Orville DeLay 1922-2015

Orville DeLay 1922-2015

 

Orville S. DeLay, 93, Holton, died Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, at Holton Community Hospital.

He was born July 10, 1922, near Odessa, Mo., the son of James and Bertie Pallette DeLay. He gradu­ated from Odessa High School in 1939.

Mr. DeLay enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He was engaged in 50 combat missions in the Mediterranean Theatre during World War II as a flight engineer and top turret gunner on a B-17 air­craft. He was awarded numerous medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. He later was a car­penter in Holton and the surround­ing area for many years.

He was a former member of First Presbyterian Church in Holton and later was a member of First United Methodist Church. He was also a member of Holton VFW Post 1367 and Holton Masonic Lodge 42, A.F.&A.M.

He married Martha May Mark on July 10, 1949, in Lexington, Mo. She survives.

Other survivors include two sons, Andy J. DeLay and wife Sherry, Abilene, and Ray O. DeLay and wife Ronda, Holton; and five grandchildren, Ashley DeLay, Emily Hernandez, Rachel Haught, Jackson DeLay and Paige DeLay. He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Nellie Irene Campbell and Alice J. Hoover.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesdaya at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Holton. Burial with military honors will follow in Holton Cemetery. Mr. DeLay will lie in state until service time at the funeral home, where family and friends will meet from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church or Holton VFW Post 1367, sent in care of Chapel Oaks Funeral Home, P.O. Box 1034, Holton, KS 66436.

The Holton Recorder

109 W. Fourth St.
Holton, KS 66436
Phone: 785-364-3141

holtonrecordernews@gmail.com

 

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