William (Pap) Allen Gedye

William Allen Gedye or “Pap” as he was known, age 75, of Marion, passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 18, 2021 at his residence surrounded by his loving family. Pap was born to the late Eugene Joseph Gedye and Almeta Donovan on November 16, 1945. On October 6, 2017, he married the love of his life and his soul mate, Lorraine J. Litzenberg in Marion, OH. Pap laid Lorraine to rest on January 3, 2019.

Pap served his country in the U.S. Navy for seven and a half years, where he fought in the Vietnam War before being honorably discharged in 1970. Shortly after leaving the Navy, Pap began working for the Marion Power Shovel. From there, Pap owned and operated his own HVAC company called Bill’s Better Homes for over 30 years. Pap loved to fish, play poker and enjoyed taking his children on road trips. He also loved playing the lottery, scratching off lottery tickets and occasionally stopping by a casino to play cards or try his luck at a slot machine. Pap adored his children, grandchildren and his great-grandchildren. Once retired, Pap and Lorraine made sure spending time with their families was their number one priority. He also had a soft spot for his fur babies, Lucky and Casey. Pap loved the fall leaves when they would start changing colors so he and Lorraine would often drive to Alum Creek just to see the leaves.

Pap spent a lot of his life traveling but he would always say, “I’ve been around the world twice and to 46 of the 50 states, but I couldn’t have found a better neighborhood to live in” when referring to his home with Lorraine and his neighbors.

Pap is also preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Thomas Gedye; his sisters, Martha (Clark) Llewellyn and Phyllis Gabriel; and his son, Tony “T-Bone” Howell.

He is survived by his children; James Howell, Larry (Sheri) Howell, William Allen (Ashley) Gedye, Jr., all of Marion, OH; Delores K. (Pedro) Gedye-Perez, of Dublin, OH, and two nieces that Pap considered “bonus” children; Erin (Ian) Valerio, of Boston, MA, and Dana (Brent) Plummer, of Dayton, OH, along with 13 grandchildren; Jimmy (Jordan), Haley and Kaitlyn, Trenton and Braydon, Dallas (Michael), Zayne, Kaelin, Lauren and Gavin, and Cooper, Jack and Nora; and two great-grandchildren; Delilah and Risley.

Visitation will be held at the Boyd Funeral Home on Monday, April 26, 2021 from 5-8 p.m. The funeral service will take place at the funeral home on April 27, 2021 at 1 p.m. There will be an hour of visitation prior to the service. An interment service will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery after the service.

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