Wallace Verl Mangum

Wallace Verl Mangum, 88, a resident of the Forest Grove community, passed away on November 5, 2024 at his home.
Verl was born on November 8, 1935 in Idaho Falls, ID. He was the oldest of five children born to Wallace and Mary Jane (Douglass) Mangum. Verl's family moved around to find work during WWII, ending up in the St John's area of Portland. His mother worked in the shipyards and his father helped build the road up to Mt Hood.
Verl served his country in the Air Force during the Korean War era.
He met his future wife, Marlene Ann Spiering, at a friend's home across the street from his parents' home. Verl was enlisted in the Air Force, and they courted for a year and a half through weekly letters and saw each other only while he was on leave. Twenty dates later, they were married on June 1, 1957 in Roy, OR. Following their marriage, they lived in Las Vegas, NV where Verl was stationed. Upon his discharge they moved to Verboort, OR where they lived for 65 years. Marlene passed away on July 31, 2016. They had four children together, Verla, Wendy, Jill, and Randy.
Verl was a woodworker all his career, first as a door clamp operator for Nicolai Door until the plant's closing 15 years Later, he worked as a cabinet maker for Curtis Trailers.
He enjoyed woodworking, tinkering with cars and working in his yard. He loved having his family over and enjoyed playing pinochle. He enjoyed helping others and being a good neighbor. (He never passed up a stranded car without stopping to help.) Marlene and Verl both liked to visit the wonders of Oregon and surrounding states, which included waterfalls, caves, hot springs, beaches and mountains. They visited about 2/3 of the National Parks on road trips across the country.
Verl is preceded in death by his loving wife, Marlene, his parents, son-in-law Richard Bumgardner, daughter-in-law Linda Mangum, and four siblings
He is survived by his four children and their spouses, Verla and Richard Kelly of Forest Grove, Wendy Bumgardner of Vancouver, Jill and Perry Banister of Hillsboro, Randy Mangum of King City, five grandchildren, Kimberlea, Korey, Joshua, Jennifer and Elysia, and five great grandchildren Ally Rose, Lacey, Triniti, Twila, and Zane