Roy L. Ousley

Hardworking, conservative and adventurous were just a few ways to describe Roy Ousley. At a young age he learned the value of hard work but also knew how to enjoy himself in his free time. He loved his family and his grandchildren were the reward of being a husband and father.

With WWII ending the year prior, 1947 saw a high demand of consumer goods that outstripped supply in the United States. The British car makers took advantage of these shortages by exporting as many cars as they could and many Americans liked the idiosyncrasies from these British cars like Austin, Hillman and MG's. The year saw some of the most significant inventions that would impact lives for many years to come including the transistor, the mobile phone and Polaroid's "Land" instant photo camera. With many of the service men and women returning home, much of American households were welcoming new babies into their hearts and homes. Amongst these families were Homer and Lurannie (Ousley) Ousley and on July 5, 1947 in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, Roy L. Ousley was born.

Raised alongside his older brothers, Homer Jr. and Jerry in Prestonsburg, Roy worked hard on the family farm with gardening and tending to livestock. They enjoyed going fishing, hunting and exploring the caves and hillsides near their home. By the time he was a freshman, his dad took a job that would move them to Kosciusko County, Indiana. He graduated from Pierceton High School with the Class of 1965 and he received his associate's degree from International Business College. While at IBC, he met a young lady that would change his life forever, Rebecca "Becky" J. Gebert. On August 17, 1968 the two were married in Larwill at Becky's parents' home.

The young couple lived in Flora as Roy worked as a controller for Yeager & Sullivan and also raised between 700-1,500 feeder hogs at a time. By 1979, Roy, Becky and their two sons, Kevin and Rodney moved back to the family farm in Pierceton. Aside from farming, he previously worked as a Controller for United Technology, PTG and Dana. He retired in 2014 from Wabash Valley. Over the years, he received his bachelor's degree from Indiana Wesleyan University.

When he was free from his office work, he kept busy tending to his large garden and canning at season end. He and Becky enjoyed traveling and going on vacations across the U.S., including trips to Hawaii, Alaska and even to Italy for their 50th wedding anniversary. With a love for Chevrolet Corvettes since he was at least 16 years old, he took many road trips, including he and Becky going across the country, following Route 66 on one trip after retiring and even across Canada. Over the years they visited every state except Louisiana and Alabama.

Roy loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. He took many trips and added to his collection of "trophies" over the years to include not only fish and deer, but also a black bear on a hunting trip in Canada in 2017. He always wanted to add an Elk but several years back had to cancel a trip and was looking forward to going on an Elk hunt later this year.

For over the past 10 years, he has always enjoyed a hunting trip to Escanaba, Michigan. Unfortunately on this year's trip after arriving, he was suddenly taken to UP Health Systems in Marquette, Michigan and passed away unexpectedly the following day, Sunday, October 7, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. He was a member of the Lions Club, Ducks Unlimited and National Wild Turkey Federation.

Survivors include his loving wife of 50 years, Becky Ousley; sons, Pastor Kevin (Pam) Ousley, of Columbia City and Rod (Shelly) Ousley, of Columbia City; grandchildren, Brey Ousley, Blake Ousley, Clay Ousley, Kylee Ousley and Emma Ousley; and brothers, Homer Ousley, Jr., of North Manchester and Jerry Ousley, of Larwill. He was preceded in death by his parents; and a sisters-in-law, Linda Ousley and Marcia Ousley.


Visitation is 2-8 p.m. Friday, October 12, 2018 at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home with visitation starting one hour prior. Pastor Kevin Ousley will be officiating. Burial to follow at Hillcrest Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to Tri-County Fish & Wildlife Area, Whitley County 4-H or Coesse/Jefferson Chapel United Methodist Church Youth Group. Visit www.demoneygrimes.com to send family condolences.