Louie Carroll Nunley was born April 18, 1927, to Louie Gardner Nunley and Ruth Nunley in Nashville, Tennessee. He was one of 4 children, with 2 sisters and a brother. Louie grew up enjoying card games, puzzles, and board games, especially checkers. Louie’s father passed away after the eighth grade, and being the eldest son, he had to drop out of school, and worked various jobs to help support the family, including being a soda jerk. World War II had started and when he could, Louie enlisted in the Navy and was stationed in Panama. He didn’t have a driver’s license, but he was assigned driving fuel trucks. Louie had an idea that the base club should have activities, and shortly after, his job for the rest of his tour, was to run the club with all the food, beverages and activities. He made sure there were plenty of checkers games.
Oretha Virginia Harris was born April 5, 1929, to George Harris and Elsa Harris, in Jobe, Kentucky. She was the third oldest of 11 children, with 6 sisters and 4 brothers. She lived with her family in a house with dirt floors and no indoor plumbing or electricity. “Retha” grew up enjoying, collecting and caring for frogs and roosters and playing hand-and-foot with her friends. Before graduating high school, Retha moved with some girlfriends to Oak Ridge, where she worked various jobs to support herself. For recreation, she and her friends were members of the roller-skating club.
After the Navy, Louie returned to Oak Ridge, which had become a “fenced-in” city, because of the secret work developing the atomic bomb to end the war. Louie wanted to contribute and applied for a job at the new nuclear plant. They were only hiring high school graduates, but they let Louie take a test, he passed, and was hired as a welding fabricator. While there, he distinguished himself by developing a method to weld thin stainless steel so it wouldn’t warp. Louie had a good job, helped his family out, and he also became a member of the roller-skating club.
By 1948, Retha also had a good job at the phone company, and she and Louie met at the roller rink. Louie and Retha became Mr. and Mrs. Nunley on April 14, 1950, on the same day as their best friends from the roller-skating club got married. They lived in Oak Ridge and on August 22, 1951, their son William Carroll was born. Then about four years later, their son Danny Charles was born, coincidently on Retha’s birthday, April 4, 1955. Retha’s parents and some of her siblings had moved from Jobe, Kentucky to La Mirada, California in search of work. Retha wanted to be near her family. So, two weeks after Danny was born, Louie, Retha and the two boys drove a Nash, pulling a trailer, to California and landed in Bell Gardens. Within a year, Louie was able to get a good job as a welder, and soon they were able to buy a brand-new family home in La Mirada, near Retha’s family.
Louie and Retha lived a good life with “Chuck” and Danny in La Mirada. The family was able to go on vacations every year to places like Yosemite, Sequoia, The High Sierras, and every other year to Tennessee to visit Louie’s family. Louie and Retha always had a very active social life and many friends. They enjoyed square dancing, clogging, and playing cards at the Elks Club. About 1960, Louie started his own fabrication company, and was successful enough that Retha could leave the telephone company and stay home with the boys. Louie always had an inventive mind and developed products that are still in use. He never did patent his designs, but the products that he made provided for his family and their retirement.
In the mid 1980’s, with their boys married and having grandkids that they loved to spend time with, they sold their home in La Mirada, purchased an RV and set out on the next adventure. They traveled across the United States and belonged to an RV club, where they continued their active social life. Louie and Retha found the Highland Springs Country Club in Cherry Valley in 1988, instantly fell in love with it, and bought their house from a friend. Louie always said that “this was the best place on earth to live.” They also brought eight other couples from their RV Club to HSCC, who sold their homes and moved to Cherry Valley with them. Louie and Retha loved to bowl, golf, play cards, and volunteer to help on committees. Retha was a member of the Red Hat Society. Louie always loved to sing Country Western songs and enjoyed singing them at Karaoke. And Louie always played checkers.
Louie and Retha are survived by their Children Chuck Nunley and his wife Connie and Danny Nunley and his wife Carole, Grandchildren Shon Nunley, Brenda Nunley, Deaja Borges, Ryan Borges, Kelly Nunley, Max Nunley, and Great Grandchildren Rylee Borges, Chase Borges, Josh Nunley, Jaclyn Nunley, Christian Nunley, Presley, and Brandon Nunley. Also surviving are Retha’s sisters Ellen, Francis, Juanita, and Anna.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.weaver-mortuary.com for the Nunley family.
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