Glenn Pemberton, 82, of Eagle Creek (formerly of Carus), passed away on June 27, 2023 in Hillsboro Oregon. He is survived by his wife, Victoria Grace Pemberton, four sons, Aaron (Teresa) Pemberton, John (Christie) Pemberton, Sr., Keith (Suzanne) Pemberton and Benjamin (Esther) Pemberton, along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Laura Pemberton.
Memorial services will be held July 15th at 11:00 am at Turning Point Church. 13333 SE Rusk Rd Milwaukie, Oregon, 97222
Lunch will be served following the service for those wishing to stay and visit with the family.
EULOGY
A Father’s Love
A father is respected because
He gives his children leadership…
Appreciated because
He gives his children care…
Valued because
He gives his children time…
Loved because
He gives his children the one thing
They treasure most – himself.
Author - unknown
“The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.”
– Proverbs 20:7 (NKJV)
This man of integrity - who is he? We call him dad.
Glenn Merrel Pemberton, son of the late Clarence Edward Pemberton and Nancy Ellen Richards, was born September 30th, 1940 in Salem Oregon. He attended community college in Bend where he graduated with the Associates of Sciences degree. He gave his life to the Lord in 1959 at youth camp. He faithfully attended the Assembly of God church and served as a board member, deacon, and teacher for several of the churches. He was knowledgeable of the Bible and loved talking about it. He would get into some really good long conversations about it. He loved to talk about spiritual things. Of course, listening to dad share his thoughts on eternity was engaging and thought provoking.
He married Victoria Grace Belden on February 25 ,1961. They were blessed with five children. Aaron James, John Cliford, Laura Jeanne (June 23, 1965- January 10, 2018), Keith Andrew, and Benjamin Merrel. They moved to Bend in 1968, and then to Carus in 1970. They transferred to their current home in Eagle Creek in 2011.
He was Glenn to some and Merrel to others. To Vickie, he was a devoted husband. To his brothers, he was someone to talk to…for an hour…right in the middle of dinner. To us kids, he was a dad, a grandpa, or a great-grandpa. He welcomed us girls (his son’s wives) into his family and loved us as his own. Whether he was fixing our cars, teaching us to drive, teaching us to garden, or, solving our marital problems, he was wise and patient with all of us.. He loved hunting and fishing with many of his family members and friends, and had a LOT of stories to tell.
Now about his stories. Those long stories. Dad’s long, inevitable, never-ending stories. We had many years of his wonderful funny (and some not so funny) stories and jokes. These would start like this in his deep growly voice: “Hey, did you hear….pause…..about the man….pause…..who…” (we knew we were in for a long one when he began like that, but yet we always looked forward to hearing them from him. Did he notice when we rolled our eyes? Did he hear our sighs when he began? Probably, but he continued on nonetheless.
He was a very confident man that would make a friend wherever he went. Whether at the sawmill working with lumber, or meeting people for the first time to repair their typewriter, he had a sense of humor that was contagious. Dad was respected as a trusted colleague and employee in all of his workplaces.
He was a loving grandfather to all the kids. Whether they were ‘Georgetta Kumquats’ or ‘Alfonso de Albuquerques’, he was able to calm them with his ‘dad-pat’ on their bottoms. They all have wonderful memories growing up with him. He was so loved and respected by all of the family and will forever be missed.
Dad was talented, he was truly a Jack of all Trades. There was nothing he couldn’t figure out. He loved woodworking. He made chests, lamp sconces, doll cribs, time out chairs, and frames. We all have something of dad’s workmanship in our homes.
Family get-to-gethers were very important to dad. He participated in food preparation by making the most tender homemade noodles. And if we had a BBQ? Dad would be there flipping the burgers; he would even (without hesitation) pack up his bbq and all the stuff needed just to contribute his talent of bbqing (and it gave him a captive audience for more of his tales). His burgers were the juiciest burgers around. We were so blessed to have Dad!!!
Dad, we KNOW where you are. We know that you can now see. Your hands can grip and feel. You can RUN! Dad, have you tried to jump up and down yet? You can do that too! We are so proud of you - the race you ran was hard. It was long. You were strong through to the end. You have made it to the finish line with integrity. We hope to make you proud too. We love you dad and will always cherish our memories you gave us. We will always miss you and will see you again some day.
With love and broken hearts,
Your kids.
Acts 20:24
“...my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.