Herbert Ashton

Herb was born in Phoenix, AZ June 19, 1922. At an early age he moved to Solomon, AZ to live with his grandparents and attended Solomon School until 7th grade. He then went to work herding goats at Johnny Creek in the Gila Mountains and from there moved to Washington State to live with his dad. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the US Army. While in the service he received a purple heart for fighting in WWII. While recovering in the military hospital in Denver, CO he met the love of his life Lucille Wortman who was a cook also in the service and they were married on base in 1945. After being discharged from the Army he returned to Phoenix for a year and then moved to Montana to be closer to Lucilles family. While in MT he drove a taxi cab and logging trucks, put himself through silversmith school and worked for a jeweler, learned how to fly small planes and went on to get his pilots license. In Aug of 1947 they were blessed with their first of three children, Herbert H Ashton III. Three years later in March their first daughter Susan Marie was born. In 1952 the family moved to Alaska to find their fortune in gold. After no luck finding their gold, Herb became a correctional officer and from there transferred to Alcatraz. Their third child Jonie Lou was born in July of 1956. They stayed on Alcatraz until the prison closed in 1963 and transferred to Safford Federal Prison where he retired in 1975 and made it his final home in San Jose. Throughout his life, he had several hobbies which include hunting, fishing, mining, bee keeping, and photography. When retired Herb and Lucille spent most of their free time camping or fishing at San Carlos Lake with friends and family. He enjoyed having his grandkids going camping and taking them on the boat fishing. He is preceded in death by his loving wife Lucille and two children Herbie and Suzy. He is survived by his daughter Jonie Earp, 6 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren. Graveside services will be held Thursday, November 19, 2009 at Solomon Cemetery at 10:00 a.m.