Orville Aaron McNear of Reger, MO, passed away on Sunday, January 23, 2022, at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, MO. He would have been 77 next month.
Aaron was born February 26, 1945, to Laura Ellen Robinson McNear and Orville Aaron Cole, in Tower Hill, IL. He married Mary Frances Ford on October 2, 1964, at Reger Church of God, and they were blessed with three children, eleven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Mary; their children Tony (Melissa), Teresa (Chuck) Ziegelbein, and Troy (Shannon) McNear; brothers Charles (Anne) and Jack (Mary) McNear; sisters Doris (Mike) Boggs, Jane Head, and Judith (Robert) Smith; grandchildren Alistair (Leah) McNear, Ian (Jennifer) McNear, Nicole (Brennon) Turner, Erin (Aaron) Devereaux, Ross (fiancée Becca Chapman) McNear, Breanna McNear, Erica Shoop, Cameron McNear, Corrie McNear, and Meeghan McNear; and great-grandchildren Clara Turner; Harrison, Camden, and Rowan McNear; and Roary Edward Devereaux.
He was preceded in death by his mother and father, brothers Marion McNear, Paul Robinson, and Billy Grant, infant sister Nancy, and infant grandson Duncan.
Aaron’s family moved to Sullivan County in 1948. He was a graduate of Milan High School, a member of Reger Church of God, and over the course of his life he worked at many jobs. Early careers included managing a lumber yard and line crew/technician for Ma Bell, and later he worked the trades of locksmithing, plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling. He’s probably best remembered, though, as a rural mail carrier. He enjoyed golf, hunting, reading, birdwatching, woodworking, archery, billiards, and puzzles of various kinds. When he was young, he also enjoyed running beagles, and in later years he enjoyed haying and cutting wood on his farm acreage. He will be missed for his keen wit, varied interests, and ever-ready delight in his young grands and great-grands.
Funeral services for Aaron will be held 3:00 PM, Friday, January 28, 2022 at Schoene-Ruschmeier Funeral Home in Milan with a visitation being held one hour prior, starting at 2:00 PM. Cremation will follow.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Knifong Cemetery.