Obituary:

From his quirky sense of humor to his musical, literary and artistic talents, C. Stanley “Ormly Gumfudgin” Locke fit many molds. He was an organizer and promoter, working for many years as head of the employee’s recreation department at La Cañada’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories and as the official historian of the International Chili Society.

At 86, the longtime La Crescenta resident, comedian, entertainer and local celebrity succumbed to cancer after five months in the hospital. No services are planned, and the family has asked that no one send flowers.

“He would ask that his passing not be mourned, but rather that his memory be celebrated fondly for every little ray of sunshine he was able to spread while he was here,” said Russ Locke, 58, of Tujunga.

Although he was known for most of his life as Ormly Gumfudgin, Locke was named after his father. He was born to Clarence Stanley and Marie Mulkey Locke on Nov. 4, 1922, in Aberdeen, Wash., and grew up in the nearby Lake Quinault area.

He has a sister, Marion “Mernie” Matthews, 82, of Shelton, Wash.

After graduating in the top 10 of his high school class — of seven students — Locke earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Washington State University in Pullman.

It was there he met his wife of 64 years, Edith “Edi” Bennett. The couple met while staging a school production of “Arsenic & Old Lace.” Locke had a role in the play and his future bride was a member of the stage crew.

Edith Locke recalled that in addition to her husband’s popular work as a radio disc jockey at the school, he also had a part-time job as the furnace boy in her sorority house, which helped spark the relationship.

While at the university, Locke was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and he had a morning radio show called Googy’s Coffee Pot Parade, which played mainly swing music, the popular style of the day.

Locke is still known to family and friends as “Googy” from that radio persona, but known to those outside the family with the name he later chose, Ormly Gumfudgin.

Edith Locke said her husband pulled the name out of thin air when, several decades ago, he was performing with a music group, and the name stuck.

“Nobody knows Stanley Locke anymore, but they know Ormly,” she said, adding that she refused to allow him to legally change his name to Ormly due to the confusion it might cause.

Bennett and Locke were married Jan. 26, 1945, between semesters at the school.