Donald G. Oberhouse, 88, was a builder.
All that he built – homes, his community, his family – was made to outlive him.
Oberhouse died April, 12, 2018. But the homes he constructed, the town of Pemberville that he served, and the family he loved, will stand for years to come.
He was born Feb. 23, 1930, in Pemberville in the home of his parents, William and Catherine Oberhouse.
He made one of his smartest moves in 1955, marrying Gustava (Gussie) Carpenter. Together, they worked hard to serve their community.
Before becoming a builder, Oberhouse worked as a fireman for the New York Central Railroad. Those early years started his love of railroads that followed him throughout his life.
Oberhouse began his building career working with the well-respected Bowling Green homebuilder, Melvin Johnson. He later began building homes himself in Pemberville.
Being a devout perfectionist, Oberhouse often spent a full year building a home. He respected hard work – and would toil from sun up, well past sun down. His arms were like Popeye’s, his hands like ham hocks. He would hand dig a foundation, and would use a hammer even when nail guns would be easier. If one nail was good, and two were better, he would use four.
He was a very intelligent man, who could calculate tricky measurements in his head – but then wrote them out to be absolutely certain. Many in the Pemberville area live in homes that Oberhouse constructed from scratch, added onto, or repaired.
Though he loved road trips, from one coast to the other, Oberhouse had no desire to live anywhere but Pemberville. He believed in serving his community, and was proud of the fact that the village invested in its infrastructure. Oberhouse served a combined 28 years on the Pemberville Village Council and the Board of Public Affairs. He was also a member of the Pemberville-Freedom Township Fire Department.
When members of the village came together to build a community pool, Oberhouse was instrumental in getting it done. Though he seldom made time to use the pool himself, he believed in its importance for the children in the community.
Oberhouse believed in learning – and made sure to provide educational moments for all around him. He never drove past a historical marker without stopping and getting everyone out to read.
He loved traveling the country, with his first big trips being in a Model A. After his older brother, Bob, was blinded in the Pacific during World War II, Don drove him on many trips. As a teen, he drove cross country with buddies, reaching all 48 continental states before he turned 18. That would be the beginning of many road trips through his life.
His memory was like the rest of him – meticulous. Decades after trips, he would be able to recall the routes that he traveled and where he pitched a tent for the night. As he was living his last years at Wood Haven Health Care, he would remember where the staff lived, how many children they had – and most importantly, if they had any relatives in Pemberville.
Oberhouse was proud of his family, who had no choice but to be hardworking like him. He was proud of his wife, Gussie, who was an elementary teacher, principal and later served as mayor of Pemberville. He delighted in watching his son, Tom Oberhouse, take farmland in his backyard and cultivate it into North Branch Nursery, and continued his service on the Pemberville Board of Public Affairs. And he was gratified that his daughter, Jan Larson McLaughlin, used journalism as her way to better her community, first as editor of the Sentinel-Tribune, now as co-founder of Bowling Green Independent News.
Don loved maintaining relationships with his grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
He is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Tom Oberhouse and Laura Landry Meyer, Pemberville; daughter and son-in-law, Jan Larson McLaughlin and Frank McLaughlin, Bowling Green; and grandchildren, Nicholaus Oberhouse, Chicago; Anna Walden, Kansas City; Aubrey Oberhouse, Australia; Eleanora Meyer, Bowling Green; Nathan Meyer, Columbus; and Alexia Larson, Bowling Green.
Don is also survived by his sister, Opal Blausey, Bowling Green. He was preceded in death by Gussie, and his three brothers, Jim, Bob and Glen.
Visitation will be Monday, April 23, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m., at Marsh Funeral Home in Pemberville. The funeral will be Tuesday, April 24, at 11 a.m., in the United Methodist Church in Pemberville.
Memorials may be made to the Gustava Oberhouse Scholarship Fund at Eastwood Schools.
