Orval Cameron McCallum

Orval Cameron McCallum, age 86 of Portland, Oregon passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 with his family by his side. He was born to Harold Alexander McCallum and Illa Margarete (Casper) McCallum on December 12, 1938 in Wainwright, Alberta Canada. Orval was the second of four children; Delbert, Orval, Marlene, and Mark. Illa later married Ross Briggs who owned Briggs Trucking, a logging/trucking company. The family moved often from town to town where Orval learned the practice of logging. Their travels spanned the entire west coast from Northern Washington to points south of Eureka California. He told stories about felling trees, bucking, choking and truck driving the logs into town. At the ripe age of 10 years old, he had learned how to drive a semi-truck of logs downhill to a turnaround near the Umpqua River where Ross’s brother met the truck and would haul the logs the rest of the way through town to the mill pond. Orval and family made their way to Dundee where they owned a Shell station, pumping gas and performing basic maintenance to cars and trucks. Here he made long term friends, performed sophomoric pranks like all high schoolers and developed his mechanic skills while still working as a part time logger. He graduated from Newberg High School and joined the Oregon National Guard in 1957. He did Basic Training at Fort Ord, California and then went to Artillery School at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas where he learned how to maintain and operate Field Artillery (Howitzers). In 1959 he joined the Marines where he received additional training in motor transportation and auto mechanics. He was honorably discharged in 1962. While in the Marines, he met and married Linda May Hughes, and a bond for 66 years ensued. Son’s Mark, Mike, and Matt would be born in a few years and as family, they bought a small home on Long street in Portland where they would live together for 65 years. Post military Orval joined the Teamsters union and drove loads up and down the west coast regularly from Seattle to Los Angelas and many side routes in between. During this time he was active with his sons in youth sports like baseball and football and was Marshall Babe Ruth President for three years. He also volunteered as a boy scout leader. He enjoyed taking his family on road trips to visit his mother and step father Walt in northern California and also to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California. In the early 70’s Orval decided he wanted to try his hand at teaching. He went to Clark College then on to Multnomah College and then to Portland State University for a teaching degree. He graduated with a degree in Geography, but came away from the experience knowing much more than geography. He first worked as a substitute school teacher and then taught full time at St Paul High, Milwaukie High, Marshall, Madison, and Benson High Schools. He ultimately found himself teaching what he loved best, mechanics and auto body repair at Lower Columbia College. He was very proud that a majority of his students were hired by the leading Auto Body firms like Vic Alfonzo Cadillac and Jim Fisher Ford. Due to economic downturns and cutbacks, he decided to work in the Portland Shipyard where he excelled as a Leadman and Foreman for Dillingham Ship Repair, Northwest Marine and Floating Marine Ways through Boilermakers Local 72. He was active in the union and worked to have the bylaws changed so the executive members would be more accountable and expenditures were reviewed and ultimately approved by the members. He helped his sons Mark and Mike obtain jobs as boilermakers and learn skills to last a lifetime. He worked in the ship yard for 20 years. During the 1990’s Orval met Tom Shaw, a movie director working in Portland. He became involved in Tom’s projects and really enjoyed making movies. He worked for several movie studios primarily in transportation and special effects where his skills were in high demand. He enjoyed the camaraderie and the alcaldes the directors who he worked for would bestow upon him and the crews he worked with. Orval also worked as supporting cast on the TV series Northern Exposure, an actor on multiple television and newspaper advertisements, and at one point, operated a camera boat to shoot a high-speed boat scene for an action movie. He enjoyed working with his son Mike with Columbia Pictures. Throughout his life Orval had a willingness to fix anything for anybody and to chat about a wide variety of subjects. He helped his family, neighbors, and friends fix cars, bicycles, vacuum cleaners, dressers, toasters and even a few weeks ago, diagnosed the reason his car would not start. Always the mechanic, always solving problems. He was friendly, giving, kind, and cared about all animals including the stray cats and dogs that he adopted. He enjoyed the crows and squirrels as well. Orval is survived by his wife, Linda McCallum, his sons: Mark McCallum (Joan), Mike McCallum (Pam), & Matt McCallum (Stacy), siblings: Marlene, Mark (Patty), half-sister Linda Williams, and sister-in-law Joan, grandchildren: Joseph, Josh (Sally), Nick, Cameron (Elyssa), Michelle (Scott), and Lindsey, great-grandchildren: Marcus, Aurelia, Cal, Emma-Jean, and Nephews/Nieces: Christopher, Cindy, Darwin, Frank, Candice, Shelly, Jamie, Angie, Carrie, Melinda, and Rick. He was preceded in death by his mother Illa, his father Harold, his step fathers Ross Briggs and Walter Kivley, his brother Delbert as well as nephew Jason and niece Heaven. An honors salute will be given at the Willamette Memorial VA Cemetery at 11800 SE Mt. Scott in Portland, Oregon on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at 2:00 pm sharp. Friends and family are welcome to attend but be there at 1:15 to gather by 1:30. To honor Orval’s memory, the family suggests contributions to https://www.toysfortots.org/

Orval Cameron McCallum

December 26, 1938 - May 27, 2025