Marvin Wayne Searcy

Marvin Searcy died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes and at peace with the Lord, on Dec. 21, 2020. All who knew him loved him. He leaves a big hole in our hearts and will be greatly missed.

 

Marvin was born in rural southern Indiana in a shack with no electricity or running water. When he was 4, his parents and 2 brothers moved to Ohio, because his father had an opportunity to work on the railroad. Another brother, Howard, and a sister, Ruth, then joined the family. The small farm and house in Ohio didn’t have electricity or running water either; there wasn’t an indoor bathroom there until 1966. He worked on the farm and for various other farmers in the area.

 

Marvin met Phyllis in High School and they married in Jan. 1952. They lived in a house in Stoney Ridge, OH. He was in the Navy reserves, and on active duty, he trained as a machinist and served aboard the USS Juneau. Marvin spent time on Navy bases in San Francisco and San Diego; it was there he realized that there were places that weren’t as cold and snowy as Ohio.

 

Sally and Peggy were born. As Ohio was cold and snowy, and jobs were scarce, he moved the family to California to enjoy the warm weather and take advantage of better job opportunities. Marvin worked as a machinist at various companies. He started OMMS (Ole Man’s Machine Shop) Engineering in Santa Ana, CA where he worked until he was about 80.

 

He loved camping, rockhounding, and off road motorcycling, and later built his own dune buggy and land sailer. Marvin gathered friends and family into big campouts and shared his “toys.”  

 

Marvin was intuitive and patient with small children, his own descendants and random kids. Babies always smiled at him.

 

He was wonderful with dogs and was a born dog trainer, even having one of his dogs being asked to perform at a birthday party.

 

He had a lifelong love of country and folk music, particularly Johnny Cash’s The Ring of Fire. He also loved to go cheer on Peggy and her team play softball for 50 years.

 

In 2002, Marvin and Phyllis celebrated 50 years of marriage with a cruise around Hawaii and a large celebration. Phyllis was diagnosed with cancer soon after that, and after a long fight with the disease, died in 2005.  

 

He kept a garden and fruit trees in his backyard and often provided folks with “Marvin-kissed” oranges, boysenberries, olallieberries, plums, kumquats, and tomatoes. Large berry jam making parties happened in the summer and included his granddaughter and her friends. He loved to give away his fruit, jam, and vegetables for friends and neighbors to enjoy.

 

Marvin remarried to Helen in 2015, after a long friendship. His daughters, granddaughters, and other friends and family were thrilled to see him so happy again, after many lonely years. Helen brought warmth, vitality, fun, and caregiving that added greatly to his remaining years.  

 

He loved his family, his friends, and his work. Marvin was a very loyal man, always keeping up with friends and family via phone calls and road trips.  Marvin had a mischievous crinkle beside his eyes, especially when playing practical jokes. He will be remembered always for the adventures he shared with others, wonderful storytelling, loyalty, and aid to others in times of need. Most of all, he will be remembered with tenderness for the love he didn't always say right to you, but showed through all of his actions.

 

He is survived by his wife Helen, brothers Harold (Dorothy) Searcy of Mt Vernon, Arkansas, Howard (Janice) Searcy of N. Lawrence, OH, daughters Sally (Bob) Greiner of Sparks, NV, Peggy Searcy of Yorba Linda, CA, granddaughters Kendra (Jason) Greathouse of Spring Hill TN, Jennifer (Alan) Armstrong of Grover Beach, CA,  Rebecca (Aaron) Hoover of Hillsboro, OR and great grand-children Amelia, Zachary, and Fiona.

 

There will be a memorial in June.  Contact Peggy at 714-813-2211 if you would like to be informed of the date.