Chester Harold McCubbin
In Memory of Chester Harold McCubbin
My father was born March 12, 1925 in Cross Timbers, Missouri in a one-room farm house in the rural Ozark Mountains. He had 11 brothers and sisters and was the youngest of them all. Both his parents died when he was young, he didn't remember them very well, and was raised by his brothers and sisters.
He joined the Army during World War II, became a radio operator after attending the Army's radio school, and travelled through Japan, Taiwan, China and India. When the war was over he came to Milton-Freewater, Oregon to spend time with his brothers, Earl and Elvin, who were hunters and fishermen. He started working in the pea cannery in Milton-Freewater, where he met the beautiful young lady, Verna Lucille Walden.
They became married on October 2, 1947 and moved to Richland, Washington, where he had received a job offer with General Electric. They remained in Richland until June, 1960 and had three children while living there: Thomas Darryl, Janis Kay and Mark Cordell. In July, 1960 the family moved to San Jose, California, transferring with General Electric.
He worked at General Electric for 38 years as a test engineer and instrument specialist in the nuclear power industry. When he retired at the age of 58, he started his own business--Silval--buying, selling and refurbishing process control instruments--and continued working out of his house at a job he loved doing, for several more years.
He came down with Parkinson's disease in 1996, and wife, Verna, died of pulmonary disease on July 21, 1999. He remained sick in bed most of the three years following her death and finally died of pneumonia on June 30, 2003--on his father's birthday--in San Jose, California. Both Verna and Chester Harold have been interred at the San Joaquin National Cemetery in Gustine, California.
These are a few of the details of his life that family and friends in the future may wish to know. There was so much more than that in the lives of both of them. Verna was a well-known artist and a devout Christian, who loved her family and went out of her way to help others as well. Chester Harold was a hard-worker, astute businessman, devoted family man, and a true inspiration and blessing to all who knew him. He had a very meek and gentle personality, which many noticed about him right away. Much more could be said, but more importantly, we know we have to let him go because of the suffering he was going through, but we sure do miss him.
Tom McCubbin
July 18, 2003