John D. Ley

John was born in Versailles, Ohio on April 1, 1930, the only child of Bart and Mary Margret (Goubeaux) Ley. John was raised during the depression and developed an incredible work ethic at a very young age. As a boy, he delivered chickens and was driving a tractor trailer at the age of 14, because as he stated, “all the men were in the war”. He later was a truck driver for Subler Trucking in Celina, Ohio and for JJ Nissen Bread in Portland where he worked for 27 years.

He was very proud of the fact that with all the hundreds of thousands of miles he had driven, he was never involved in an accident.

John loved to tell stories of growing up in rural Ohio and always had a “hard to believe” tale to tell. He was always quick with a joke, sometimes clean and at other times not! He was a kind hearted man who deeply loved his family. He was very forgiving and always said to his children, that whatever you do, you will always have a home to come home to. He is so dearly loved and will be missed.

On May 13, 1963 he married Anita L Ray of Portland and they celebrated their fiftieth Wedding Anniversary last year.

John was very blessed with a large family leaving behind 11 children. Tom and Violet (Swank) Ley of Waterville, Ohio, Ken and Vicki (Baugher) Ley of Clermont, Florida, Keith and Gwen (Miller) Ley of Celina, Ohio, Janet ( Ley) and David Pike of Celina, Ohio, Joyce (Ley) and Alan Westgerdes of Coldwater, Ohio, Jerry and Michelle (Young) Ley of Celina , Ohio, Beverly (Ley), and Ralph Cole of Gorham , Maine, Anna (Ley) and Rodney Mason of Owls Head, Maine, Arthur Ley of Portland, Maine, Robert and Dede (Copper) Ley of Pine, Colorado, and was predeceased by his son Richard Ley of Celina , Ohio. He also was blessed with thirty-three grandchildren and twenty-six great grandchildren.

The family would like to thank the VNA Hospice who enabled John to live independent and enjoy a good quality of life. A very special thank you to Cheryl, his very dear CNA, who would brighten up his days and put a smile on his face.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 27, 2014 at 11:00 AM at Jones, Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St. Portland with Rev. Mark Rustin, officiating. A graveside service with military honors will follow at Forest City Cemetery in South Portland. A reception in John’s memory will follow the committal at the funeral home.

Donations can be made in John’s memory to VNA Home Health & Hospice 50 Foden Road, Suite 3 South Portland, ME 04106.