Orbie Darrell Ingersoll

Orbie Darrell Ingersoll, passed away at home in Ventura, California on Sunday, April 27, 2025.
Orbie was born in Kansas in 1941, where his first interests were boxing, fishing and hunting. When his family moved to California, he attended Fillmore High School, where his passion turned to music and playing the trumpet. As a senior, he won first chair in the trumpet competition to be in the Southern California State Band. He decided to attend Ventura College as a Music major, where he met Frank Salazar, creator and conductor of the Ventura County Symphony Orchestra. Orbie's passion then turned to conducting, becoming Associate Conductor while at the same time playing principal trumpet for the Ventura County Symphony Orchestra. During this time, he joined the 562nd Air National Guard Band where he served six years during the early 60s, while also earning his B.A. degree in Music from CSUN, where he discovered an interest in jazz and developed into a fine trumpet jazz musician playing with various jazz bands and combos in Los Angeles and Ventura County. He then studied conducting under the tutelage of Ronald Ondrejka, Prof. of Music at UCSB and Conductor of the Santa Barbara Symphony, and earning an M.A. in Music. After receiving his master's degree in Music from UCSB, Orbie was hired as the founding faculty member for the Music Department at Moorpark College, where he found his calling as a masterful and exceptional teacher. He developed and taught all of the music theory classes for music majors, and his courses in Music Appreciation for non-majors became so popular with students that more space had to be found to accommodate the strong interest in his classes. During his 49 years teaching at Moorpark College, one of the several classes that he taught exceeded 100 students every semester for every year that he taught there.
During most of his life, Orbie was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking, mountain biking, shooting, hunting and fishing.
Orbie is survived by his wife Mary, sons David & John, and grandchildren Bailey and Logan.
Special thanks to René, Orbie's lifelong friend and confidant.
Honoring Orbie's wishes, funeral services will be private.
Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home & Cremation Service
757 East Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001 805-643-8623