Murl W. West
March 21, 1924 - April 30, 2015
Murl W. West, 91, of Silverton and Albany died Thursday.
Murl was born to the late Frank Henry West and Mandy Ellen Clines West in Reydon, Oklahoma. He graduated from Reydon High School in 1942 and joined the Army Air Force in 1943. During World War II he flew in a B-17 as a radio operator and then taught until honorably discharged in 1946.
He married Willie Mae Porter in 1948 and they lived together in Reno, Nevada, before relocating to the Oregon coast and then Silverton in 2000, and Albany to live with his son in 2013.
Murl taught high school for 25 years before retiring.
Murl was an active member of the Scotts Mills Friends Church for as long as he could drive. He loved to travel and visited many countries with his wife, including China, Spain, England, Japan, Morocco, Korea and Mexico.
Murl and Mae were married for 65 years before she passed a year earlier. He is survived by three children, Ronald West of Portland, Frank West of Albany and Vikki Allsup of Portland; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Murl's life will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home, 805 Ellsworth St. S.W., Albany, officiated by Tom Coleman. Burial will be held at a private internment.
AAsum-Dufour is handling arrangements ( www.aasum-dufor.com ).