Edward Sekermestrovich

Edward Sekermestrovich died Tuesday, October 16, 2007. He was 90. He was born to Yugoslavian immigrants, Mary and Micheal Sekermestrovich on July 23, 1917 in Detroit Michigan. Edward entered the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1937 in Fairlawn, Ohio. When he was transferred to Oregon, he drove ambulance and trucks, transferring CCC boys to other camps to fight forest fires. Some of the projects he worked on were painting the original Van Buren Street Bridge, placing the gold statue on the Oregon State Capitol building and helping build Cronemiller Lake at Peavy Arboretum. In 1942 he was inducted into the Air Corp at Ft. Lewis, Washington and then transferred to Shepherd Force Base in Texas for training. He was sent to Boling Field in Washington, DC where he drove mail truck. He always joked that he could interrupt a Presidential Parade because delivering the mail on time was a top priority. From there he was sent to St. Joseph, Missouri and became a welding expert at Rosecrans Field. In 1944, he was stationed in Karachi, India, earning two citations. One was for developing a circular antenna which was attached horizontally above the fuselage on the planes, allowing the pilots to make quick dives and climbs without losing radio contact. The other citation was for welding gas tanks on the fighter planes. On February 2, 1942 he married his roller-skating sweetheart, Ida May Warner, in Corvallis, Oregon. In 1946 Edward went to work for the Corvallis Lumber Company and in 1953 became the head millwright at Rex Clemens Sawmill and Plywood Plant until his retirement in 1974 due to a mill accident. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ida May; two daughters, Mary Stein and her husband, Ron of Eugene and Jo Anne Croff and her husband Bob of Scio; sons Dennis of Temecula, California; Bill and his wife Connie of Albany and Peter and his wife Linda of Corvallis; 10 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren; sisters Alice and Anna and brothers Albert, John and Willie all of Akron, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Rudy and sisters Helen, Katherine and Olga and daughter in law, Debra. A private memorial gathering is scheduled. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Edward's name to the Benton Hospice Service in care of McHenry Funeral Home 206 NW 5th St. Corvallis, OR 97330.

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Edward Sekermestrovich

June 23, 1917 - October 16, 2007