Joe Oyler

Nov. 25, 1929 - Jan. 21, 2005

Cremation was held for Joe Oyler, 75, of Coos Bay, on Jan. 28 in Loma Linda, Calif.

Joe was born Nov. 25, 1929, in Seattle. He died Jan. 21, 2005, in Loma Linda.

Joe led a varied life that included an early acting career in Hollywood. He played Polonius in "Hamlet" for the Santa Monica Theatre Guild. He worked on the West Coast as a longshoreman for more than 20 years. He was a salmon fisherman in Alaska, where he lived on an island with his beloved wife, Dorotha, before retiring to Coos Bay in 1992.

Joe's enthusiasm for good theater was well known. In Coos Bay, he directed many plays at the On Broadway Theater, and worked closely with Tosca Means and Phyllis Anderson. The entire cast of his productions became his extended family. In 1978, Joe directed Bandon Playhouse's opening production, "Anything Goes." At the On Broadway Theater, he directed "Picnic," "Shirley Valentine," "Night Mother," "Lucifer's Child," "Octette Bridge Club," "Nunsense" and many other plays. He also directed at the Fortuna Playhouse in California and at the Tillamook Playhouse in Oregon.

Joe loved to cook and host dinners for his family and friends, all of whom will greatly miss his keen sense of humor and his wonderful zest for life.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dorotha of Coos Bay; sons, Barry, Hank and Herb Oyler, all of Alaska; daughters, Lorri Chaney of Cottonwood, Calif., and Maggie Oyler of Coos Bay; seven grandchildren; and sisters, Dorothy Bailey of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Anna Lang of New York.

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