Robert Ozmer

Robert Sequoyah Ozmer, 85, died Friday morning, June 2, 2017 at the Living Care Retirement Community in Yakima. Robert died of heart failure. He leaves his wife of nearly 50 years, Nellie (Harris) Ozmer; his sons, Gary Ozmer, Nathan Effler and Timothy Ozmer; his daughters, Deborah (Ozmer) Beijer and Robbin Ozmer; 14 grandchildren and many dear friends. He was preceded in death by Kenneth Effler Jr. and Marietta (Effler) Clouse. Robert was born in east Tennessee, the only child of Roy Robert Ozmer and Mamie Emily (Willis) Ozmer. In his youth, Robert’s family lived in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, where Robert developed a love of the mountains and the sea. After graduating high school, Robert attended college in North Carolina prior to enlisting in the US Navy in 1950, attaining the rank Petty Officer, Second Class, serving as a submariner in the Pacific Fleet during the Korean War. After returning home, Robert began a lifelong career with the United States Postal Service. He took great pride in having the only remaining foot delivery mail route in Unicoi County. He quickly became a daily fixture in the neighborhoods and businesses of Erwin. Robert’s greatest passion was the outdoors, and he spent nearly every spare minute in the woods. He greatly enjoyed fly fishing in small streams for trout, but his true passion was big game hunting. When he was not in the woods scouting or hunting, he was reading about big game. His favorite authors were Elmer Keith and Jack O’Connor. In the mid-1960s, Robert began driving for Crete Carrier Corporation, and moved to Crete, NE. Long haul trucking enabled another of Robert’s passions – travel. Driving for Crete Carrier is when he fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. In 1975, Robert relocated to Yakima, WA, and returned to the Postal Service as a rural letter carrier. He retired in 1999, moving to Clarkston, WA for the mild climate and to pursue his outdoor passions. Robert spent most of his time with friends and family in the mountains or on the rivers in Asotin County. Robert and Nellie lived in the Clarkston area until 2014, returning to Yakima to be closer to family. A memorial will be held in the fall, his favorite time of year. Robert was truly loved by his family and friends and will be deeply missed. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Robert Ozmer, please visit our flower store.