Obituary

Ellsmore (Al) Ware Vence, 83, passed away peacefully with his wife Linda next to him in the Hospice of the Valley on April 26, 2023. His children Kim and Chris and their spouses were also in constant attendance.

Al was born on July 18, 1939 in Bridgeton City, New Jersey. He was the son of the late Robert Lawrence Vence and Ruth Ellen Ware.

Al was an outstanding student and graduated from Claymont High School at the age of 16, after which he entered the Air Force. He met his wife Carol Jean (Huber) Vence in Belleville, IL during his time in the Air Force. After serving, he worked for Honeywell Information Systems from 1970-72 as District Manager of Field Engineers in Minneapolis, MN and moved to Phoenix, AZ where he managed Honeywell’s final system tests and product quality for the total factory output until 1978.

During that time, he earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Grand Canyon College (1978). Al then moved to Sunnyvale, CAL to work for Amdahl Corporation, where he worked until his retirement in 2000. Al and Carol had two children, Kimberly (Kim) Moore and Christopher (Chris) Vence, who reside in California with their respective families. Kim married Jeff Moore and they have 3 beautiful girls: Christina, Bailey, and Jennifer. Chris married Kim Wolf, a close friend since high school.

Al took pride and joy in his family, and when he wasn’t at work he could be found attending and refereeing his kids’ soccer games and helping with homework. He also joined the Morgan Hill Lodge Masons in 1985 for his daughter who was in Rainbow Girls, another Masonic organization.

In 2005 he retired to Pebble Creek, in Goodyear, Arizona with his wife Carol. In retirement they traveled extensively, and bother became Bridge “masters.” Unfortunately, after 45 years of marriage, Carol passed away in 2010 from pancreatic cancer.

In 2012 Al began to travel again, and in 2014 met his wife Linda Jane Linthicum in Cape Town, South Africa. Sitting down next to her on a bus tour to a private game reserve, he found they were both from Arizona, with common interests they were married November 2, 2014 and continued traveling around the world.

Al enjoyed travel, visiting his family in California, golf, billiards, photography, opera and country music, reading, astronomy, chess, and tried many other things like drawing, Spanish, dancing, etc. In 2018, he and lined adopted two Havanese puppies, who were excellent companions during Covid.

Al is survived by his wife Linda Jane Linthicum, his siblings Robert Lawrence Vence II, and Judy Kates, his children Kimberly Moore and Christopher Vence, and his grandchildren Christina, Bailey, and Jennifer Moore.