In Passing – May 2025

Robert Joseph Delong

Robert Joseph Delong expected to be 95 years old in just six weeks, but on March 24, 2025, he went home to be with the Lord he had loved and served. Bob, as he was usually called, was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 5, 1930.

Bob is survived by his wife Carol. They enjoyed nearly 65 years of marriage. Other survivors are David DeLong, Leslie Speaks, Kathy Brown, and Vicki Robertson, as well as five grandchildren and four great–grandchildren.

Bob was an engineer and over the years created many electrical patents including medical devices, bicycles, as well as contributing to the development of the Mag Flashlight.

One of his first ventures was owning and operating a gas station, and from time to time he bought and sold cars for his customers.

He loved driving trips, and he and Carol drove across the country 61 times, taking their last such trip in 2023. Their bucket list expressed their desire to visit every Presidential library and they did visit one-half of them.

Heavily involved in Temple City Nazarene Church in California they participated in 13 “Work and Witness” trips to various countries around the world.

Bob served in the Naval Reserve and in the Marine Corps, achieving the rank of Corporal, training pilots in the skill of flying.

In 2008 they relocated to Sun Lakes from California and Bob became active in the Aero Club, and as often as possible accepted plane rides with his friends.

Friends and family got to know him as someone who could fix anything, so he was frequently called on to come and help. Bob was always eager to serve—anyway he could—often volunteering to do maintenance work.

His Celebration of Life service was in April at Arizona Community Church in Tempe, Ariz.

Doris Jeanne Hocking

Jeanne was born in Grosse Pointe, Mich. She was the only child of Reuben Emerson and Julie Cecelia (Summers) MacNaughtan. She graduated from Denby High School in Detroit. Jeanne went to Detroit Commercial College for two years. Upon graduation, she worked for WJR and then for an advertising agency in the G.M. building for several years.

In 1959, she married her love, William Pierce Hocking, at the Grosse Pointe Woods Presbyterian Church. They began their married life in a new home in Warren, Mich. They had three children, Mary (who died as a baby), Julie, and Mark.

In 1968, they moved to Scottsdale, Ariz. Julie and Mark attended Scottsdale Christian Academy, grade school and high school. Both children went on to college and got married and had children. Jeanne was in her 30s when she attended Scottsdale Community College and took a two–year RN program. Jeanne worked for a real estate firm for 10 years as a Secretary to the President and Vice President; she also worked at Goldwater’s Department store for the V.P. and C.F.O. as Secretary and then they sent her to TWA, St. Louis, to become an “in house” Travel Agent for Goldwater’s. Bill and Jeanne built four new homes and really enjoyed decorating them. They loved their German Shepherds and Dobermans.

Jeanne was very active at the First Baptist Church of Sun Lakes and had taken many leadership roles in the Singles Ministry and the Women’s Ministry. She loved doing all the bulletin boards for several years. Jeanne was active in Christian Women’s Club and several other clubs. She studied nutrition for many years. Studying the Bible was her favorite subject. Photography was another one of her hobbies.

Jeanne also became a teacher for “One Stroke” painting. Her creativity included sewing, cooking, and a variety of crafts such as making clay flowers, which she learned in Hawaii. Speaking of Hawaii, it was her favorite vacation place. She went there many, many times and especially loved the island of Maui.

After 49 years of marriage, her beloved husband passed away on July 12, 2008. In September 2008 she traveled with her church family to Israel, which she described as a “trip of a lifetime.”

Surviving family: Mark Hocking (son) and Doralina; Trevor Pierce Hocking (grandson); Julie Ann (daughter) and husband Greg Greenway; Kylie (granddaughter), Nicole (granddaughter) and her husband Andrew Fatten; Paityn (great–granddaughter), Grayson (great–grandson), and Chandler (great–granddaughter).

Alice M. Jardine

Alice M. (LaChausse) Jardine, 83, died at her home on Feb. 28, 2025, in Sun Lakes, Ariz.

Born in 1941 during WWII, she became the second oldest child of the late Jeremiah and Arizona LaChausse. She joins her siblings Bruce, Donald, and Philip in heaven. She leaves behind siblings Robert, Lake Bonaparte, N.Y.; Elizabeth McAdams, Lowville, N.Y.; Allen and Wendy, Beaver Falls, N.Y.; Steven and Deborah, Soft Maple, N.Y.; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Alice attended Beaver River Central School and Mildred Elley College in Albany, N.Y. After graduation she worked for many doctors’ and law offices in Watertown, N.Y.

Alice passed after her two late husbands, Richard Mattes, Croghan, N.Y., and Albert Jardine, Canada and Sun Lakes, Ariz.

Her many talents included sewing, jewelry making, oil paintings, and watercolor paintings, and she enjoyed traveling all over the world to many countries.

Per her wishes, there are no calling hours. At a later date, a private family gathering will take place. Arrangements are with Abrazo Funeral Home in Chandler, Ariz.

Sandra Lou Mork

Sandra Lou “Sandy,” “Mimi,” “Sophia” Mork was born in Minneapolis, Minn., in July 1943 and passed away peacefully in April 2025, surrounded by loved ones at her home in Sun Lakes, Ariz., under the care of THEMA Hospice.

As a young girl, Sandy lived in Luck, Wis., and Lisbon, N.D., after her father returned from WWII. In the early 1950s, her family moved to Red Lodge, Mont., where she graduated high school in 1961. She attended the University of Michigan before moving to Santa Monica, Calif., and later returned to Red Lodge to obtain an interview with Northwest Orient Airlines, where she began her career as a flight attendant in 1964.

As she was based in Minneapolis, Sandy traveled across the U.S. with Northwest. Just before transferring to Hawaii, she met David Mork on a blind date—changing the course of her life. They were married in March 1969 in Richfield, Minn., and shared 56 joyful years together.

After welcoming daughter Lisa and son Jason, Sandy left the airline. They spent 20+ years in Woodbury, Minn., where they raised their children. She worked at her husband’s CPA firm before joining Minnesota Public Radio in its catalog division. She retired in 1993, and the couple relocated to Sun Lakes, Ariz., to escape Minnesota winters.

Sandy loved to travel. Before and after raising her children, she explored over 40 U.S. states. She traveled to numerous countries including Australia, France, Greece, Germany, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Monte Carlo, many countries in South America, and most of the provinces in Canada. They went on 11 cruises across the oceans and spent over two decades vacationing with David at their beloved resort in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Her final trip there was a six-week stay, ending on March 8, 2025. Shortly after that she had a life-threatening event that led to her passing.

Her greatest pride was her family. In her own words: “If I did nothing else in this world, I raised good children.”

She is survived by her husband David; daughter Lisa (Nathan Davis); son Jason (Heather Mork); and four grandchildren: Dillon Mork, Logan Mork, Sydney Davis, and Riley Davis, and all live here in Arizona. She is also survived by her aunt in Minnesota, a brother, sister, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by both of her parents, and her youngest brother passed away in March 2025.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on May 17, 2025 at 1 p.m., at Sun Lakes Methodist Church. Live stream will be available at www.sunlakesumc.org. Donations in her memory may be made to the Crossing Hospice Foundation c/o THEMA Hospice, Phoenix, Ariz., at www.themaaz.com/hospice-care-foundation.

Barbara Lynn Hamilton Osterhoudt

Barbara Lynn Hamilton Osterhoudt, 85, of Saddletree Drive, Cottonwood, Sun Lakes very sadly passed from life in the Sun Lakes home of her daughter Karin on the morning of Friday, March 21, 2025. She had struggled valiantly and with great resilience against an unusually harrowing and cruel form of dementia as well as against several cardiac, intestinal, pulmonary, and immunological ailments, variously for 36 years, principally for the better part of three years.

Barbara was born Barbara Lynn Hamilton in Los Angeles, California on June 16, 1939, the eldest of her father’s three daughters and of her mother’s two. She grew up principally in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, where she graduated from high school in 1957. From early pre-adolescence, Barbara provided almost entirely for herself and also very notably for others; she took from no one and gave to everyone, a becoming pattern that continued throughout her life.

Barbara came to Arizona shortly after her high-school graduation and won her model job at Arizona State University, Tempe in 1958. Her distinguished thirty-year tenure at ASU concluded with a ten-year assignment as the Administrative Assistant in the Department of Kinesiology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She expertly managed this Department until forced into early retirement in 1995 by an especially severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. Despite her deepening illness, Barbara remained among the institution’s most respected employees, widely loved and admired for her steady, efficient, reliable, and evenhanded judgment as well as for her kind, generous, and considerate treatment of everyone. She was appropriately honored as ASU’s Classified Staff Council Supervisor of the Year in 1992.

Barbara married Jerry Stone in Tempe in 1960. Their exceptional children, Kristi Lynn and Karin Lee, were born in 1963 and 1967 respectively. Barbara and Jerry were divorced in 1970 and Barbara was left to raise her children largely unassisted. She married Bob Osterhoudt in Tempe in 1994, made a wonderful life with him, and thoroughly charmed his entire family.

Barbara’s uncommonly gentle, charitable, humble, civil, and gracious nature and her laudable sense of communal obligation made her an ardently loved, respected, and admired asset to everyone, an especially empathetic and agreeable companion to children and animals, and a burden to no one. She was among the very best people, among the most irreplaceable people, and among the most beautiful women in the known universe. Her family and friends are, without qualifying condition, altogether fortunate and altogether grateful to have had her at the heart of their lives. They are too, of course, altogether aggrieved at her loss. She will be profoundly and tangibly missed for all the time remaining to them. A memorial service honoring Barbara will be arranged within the next several weeks.

A full obituary may be found on both the website of Sun Lakes Splash (“In Passing”) and that of the Gilbert Memorial Park (www.gilbertmemorialpark.com).

Marlyss Ouzts

Marlyss Ouzts, age 89, of Sun Lakes, Ariz., passed away on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

She was born Marlyss Gaughran in Yale, S.D., on Dec. 9, 1935, to Josephine and “Jack” Gaughran. She had two siblings, older sister Meverette (Abernathy) and younger brother Michael Gaughran. The family moved to Casper, Wyo., in 1945 where her father worked in the oil fields. Marlyss graduated from Natrona County High School in 1953 and went on to attend Casper Community College, studying accounting, advanced typing, and stenography.

Marlyss was involved in many social and community clubs. Her love of singing in choirs, both church and school, kept her busy.

Marlyss met Larry Ouzts in the fall of 1953 and were married on Aug. 7, 1954. They were blessed with two children, Laurie (Printz) and Steven Ouzts.

The family was transferred to various places in Wyoming, Washington, and Oregon as Larry worked for Pacific Power and Light. Relocating each time, Marlyss continued to be a supportive wife and mother. She was active in various community and church clubs as well as her children’s activities. Marlyss was always available to help when someone was in need, from last minute projects at school to hosting endless friends.

In 1983, Larry and Marlyss retired and became snowbirds between Neskowin, Ore., and Mesa, Ariz. Marlyss’ mother, brother, and aunt had retired down in Mesa and they enjoyed living nearby. Eventually in 1990, they built their home in Sun Lakes, Ariz., near dear friends from Wyoming. They all went on numerous trips together to Europe, played golf, bridge, and socialized.

Larry sadly passed away in 1998. At 63, Marlyss was a young widow. She was surrounded by many friends and family. Her daughter Laurie and family, with two grandchildren, moved down in 1994. Marlyss remained busy with her various church activities, bridge clubs, and social groups.

We will miss Marlyss’ humor and her never–ending sense of organization and planning. Always thinking 10 steps ahead of everyone!

Marlyss’ cherished memory and legacy will live on with daughter Laurie (Randy), son Steven (Gale) Marlyss, grandchildren Nicholas Doty and Matthew Voorhees, and one great-grandchild, Violet Doty.

Penny Quinn

Margaret Elizabeth “Penny” Quinn passed away peacefully at the age of 90 on March 17, 2025.

Penny was born on Nov. 16, 1934, to Margaret and Charles Reamer in Chicago, Ill.. Fourteen months later, along came her twin sisters Joyce Brach and Joanne Brogan. Penny attended St. Ethelreda School and Mercy High School (Class of ’52) on Chicago’s South Side before attending Lewis College in Lockport, Ill., and graduating in 1956 from Northern Illinois University with a degree in Elementary Education.

Soon after graduation she met Dan Quinn, who had just returned from a stint in the Air Force having served in Korea, and they married a year later in 1957. She taught second grade in suburban Burbank, Ill., for 32 years before retiring in 1990.

Penny and Dan (retired Chicago Fire Department) were married for 60 years, retiring to Oakwood in Sun Lakes, Ariz., in 1997. Penny enjoyed playing bridge and golfing with the Oakwood, Ironwood, and Sun Lakes Niners. She also volunteered as a Money Counter and served as a Martha at St. Steven’s Catholic Church. After Dan’s death in 2017, she moved to and became a “Renaissance Lady” in Sun Lakes.

Penny is survived by her daughter Peggy Indrelunas of Chandler and her grandsons Brian and Michael (Kim Lopata). Funeral Mass was held April 2 at St. Steven’s. Mourners wore a touch of green to honor Penny.

Sharon Ann Snyder

Sharon Ann Snyder, age 90, of Sun Lakes, Ariz., passed away on April 13, 2025. She was born in Florence, Ariz., on March 11, 1935. Sharon graduated from Coolidge High School and went to Arizona State University in secondary education, where she met the love of her life.

Sharon was married to Richard Lee Snyder on April 9, 1955 in Coolidge. She was a housewife and had a passion for golf, sewing, shopping, sports, and relaxing at the cabin in Pinetop, Ariz.

Sharon is survived by her children Terri Gorney (Timothy Gorney), Rick Snyder, and Thomas Snyder (Nicole Snyder); grandchildren Kyle Ellis (Kristen Ellis), Ryan Gorney, Nicholas Snyder (Odet Snyder), Tyler Snyder, Kirk Snyder (Lindsay Snyder), Cory Snyder, Chad Snyder (Kerby Snyder), Baylee Snyder, Amanda Gorney, Tara Snyder, Ashley Snyder, Brandi Gray, and Brooke Snyder; great-grandchildren Ethan Ellis, Everett Ellis, Henzley Snyder, Harper Snyder, Kaylee Klaffke, Colin Gray, and Camden Gray; and sister Beverly Parker (Kevin Kness). Sharon was preceded in death by her husband Richard Snyder, daughter Tammi Snyder, son Michael Snyder, father James Riley Cleveland, and mother Decherd Cleveland.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 11 a.m. at Sun Lakes United Methodist Church, located at 9248 E. Riggs Rd., Sun Lakes, AZ, 85248.

Duane George Ticknor

Duane George Ticknor, born May 22, 1942, in Greeley, Colo., and formerly of Lincoln City, Ore., died suddenly on Feb. 25, 2025, in Sun Lakes, Ariz., where he was enjoying his retirement. He has gone home to the Lord, to his father and mother, son Rick, and sister Joie. Duane leaves behind his beloved wife Vonnie; his sons Rod, Robert, and George; sisters Rosie and Ruthie; eight grandchildren; and three great–grandchildren.

Duane was a teacher and counselor in Lincoln City School District at Taft High School, where he spent his entire teaching career beginning in 1968. He coached wrestling and girls volleyball and left an immeasurable impact on his students. Duane had a great love of hunting and fishing. He bagged many big game animals and was a very successful fisherman. He especially loved his trips to Alaska with his son George and hunting buffalo and antelope with his buddy John Stotka.

His lasting impact on his family, friends, and students will be forever remembered, including those who he will never meet as an organ donor. A summer memorial service in Lincoln City is being planned. Date and time still to be determined.