Hubert Grady Duvall Sr.

Feb. 28, 1932 - Jan. 30, 2014

Hubert Grady Duvall Sr., 81, of Corvallis passed away on Jan. 30, 2014, at home, after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Hubert was born on Feb. 28, 1932, in a cabin in Itawamba County, Miss., to sharecroppers Tracy and Lennie Duvall. He attended school in Fulton, Becker and Itawamba, Miss., but, to put it mildly, never considered formal education important at the time.

As a boy, he loved playing football and was a decent quarterback. In fact, as an eighth-grader, he was recruited to be the starting quarterback on the local high school varsity football team. Unfortunately, putting an eighth-grader on a high school team turned out to be a rule violation, which put a quick end to the plan.

Hubert spent 1950-1951, as he described it, knocking around from job to job. He hitchhiked north to Wisconsin with a buddy to work in a factory. In 1950, he was employed for a short time in the Foundry Division of Nash Motor Company.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1951. Following boot camp, he was assigned to the U.S. Military Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He volunteered for submarine duty and was a Torpedoman aboard the USS Bugara. He received the National Service Award, the Good Conduct Award and the China Service Medal (extended).

While stationed in Honolulu, he met the love of his life, Theresa, at a skating rink. After a two-year courtship, they married in 1954.

Following Hubert's honorable discharge from the Navy that same year, the couple moved to Mississippi, where Hubert attended Mississippi State University. He graduated from MSU in 1958 with a degree in Industrial Arts Education. His young family then returned to Hawaii, where Hubert taught at Waipahu High School and Kalama Community Center on Oahu.

In 1960, the family relocated to Oregon, so that Hubert could pursue a master's degree at Oregon State University. They settled in Alsea, where Hubert taught at Alsea High School and singlehandedly built his family a house. He also developed an interest in coaching wrestling, and greatly enjoyed the hunting and fishing opportunities.

In 1967, after obtaining his master's degree in education, he obtained a position with the Corvallis School District. He taught industrial arts at Western View Middle School, and later at Crescent Valley High School until his retirement in 1992.

Hubert was a devoted husband and loving father. He enjoyed the outdoors, carpentry, and working on his rental homes. Hubert is survived by his wife of 59 years, Theresa; their four children, Sandie Blaha and her husband, Steve, of Beaverton, Tanya Erickson and her husband, Craig, of Tustin, Mich., Hugh Duvall and his wife, Julie, of Eugene, and Rob Duvall and his wife, Stephanie, of Corvallis; 10 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

A funeral will take place at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, at McHenry Funeral Home in Corvallis. Please leave your condolences and thoughts at www.mchenryfuneralhome.com.