Elwood Lemar Solley of Chancey Rd., Zephyrhills FL passed away peacefully of old age on October 21, 2021. He was 91. Lemar, as friends and family knew him, was born to Viola and Blair Solley of Grampian, Clearfield County, in the Pennsylvania Coal Country on December 10, 1930. As was typical in rural America at the time, the Solley's led a Spartan existence. Amenities like indoor plumbing and central heating were far in the future for Lemar and his siblings as their childhood spanned The Great Depression.

It was during this period of his life that Lemar learned to respect the value of a dollar a trait that never left him. At family gatherings decades later, he could often be heard inquiring of those arriving from afar what they had paid for gas.

Lemar excelled in sports that require hand-eye coordination whether it was golf, horseshoes, quoits, shuffleboard or washers and in tournaments, he often took home top honors. Music was also a great love of his and his humble beginnings did not deter him from standing up in front of one and all and belting out a song or two.

After he graduated from high school, Lemar relocated to Ohio where the steel industry held promise. Not long after starting work in the steel mills, the Army called and in 1952, he became a specialist installing and operating long-range wireless communications facilities in Germany where he was based at Baumholder and elsewhere on the European continent.

Upon his discharge, Sergeant Solley returned to Girard, OH where he resumed working in the steel industry, eventually becoming a foreman. Shortly after returning, he married his first wife Carol and the couple had a son, Larry, and a daughter, Deborah. The marriage ended in divorce.

Years later while on a hunting trip in Potter County, PA, Lemar met and courted Ruth Fitzpatrick Ainsworth of Whitesville, NY. They married in 1988 and have been inseparable ever since. He retired from Republic Steel at age 52, enjoying a retirement of nearly 40 years. After Ruth retired from the industrial supply business some years later, they made Florida their permanent home.

The high esteem in which Ruth and Lemar are held by their neighbors at Glen Haven Park is attested to by the surprise party the residents held for them at the Heartland rehab center where both were recovering from broken hips earlier this year. Lemar is dearly loved by his son, stepchildren, nieces, and nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who will miss his smile and chipper personality.

He is survived by wife Ruth Solley, sister Addirene Trapp, son Larry, and two grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his first wife, Carol, daughter Deborah, and brothers Dale and Lonnie. He will be laid to rest at his camp in Potter County, PA.

Always prepared for a song, Lemar carried in his wallet until his dying day a list of his favorite songs from his favorite artist, Hank Williams whose final song was "Ill Never Get Out of This World Alive."