Rex Dale Fuller

Rex was born Rex Dale Campbell on August 12, 1934 in Lost Corner, Arkansas. He was preceded in death by Mary, his wife of almost 59 years, his mother, June Fuller, stepfather, Byron Fuller and his father, Lee Campbell. He is survived by a daughter, Pamela Fuller of Long Beach, and a grandson, Joshua Nichols of Anaheim. He is also survived by two half-brothers: Dennis Fuller of Summerville, South Carolina and Keith Rinehart of Dallas, Texas.

He grew up in Little Rock and Hot Springs, Arkansas. He lived with his grandparents for a year in Tupelo, Mississippi, and proudly loved to tell everyone the story of his little friend “Elvis.” His mother remarried when he was seven and at the age of twelve, he was adopted by his stepdad and became Rex Fuller at that time. As a kid, he was a boy scout and worked at the local country club as a caddie and also took care of the horses at the racetrack. It was his job to run the race results to the local newspaper before it went to print. He had a motorcycle that he loved to ride on around town long before he had a driver’s license!

In the early 1950s, his family moved from Arkansas to California. He attended Poly HIgh School in Long Beach and quickly learned wearing a cowboy hat and boots in Southern California was not cool. He also worked hard at losing his Arkansas accent. He joined a fraternity while at Poly and made friends quickly.

After graduation, he worked for General Telephone Company as a PBX operator, climbing the telephone poles. Through mutual friends, he met his future wife, Mary Roy, who was also working for the telephone company. Rex then enlisted in the United States Coast Guard and served as a quartermaster on three different ships: The Pontchartrain, Ironwood, and Minnetonka. The Coast Guard took him all over the Pacific: Hawai’i, Guam, The Philippines, Marshall and Mariana Islands and Japan.

Rex married Mary on May 8, 1959 while home on leave. When he was stationed in Hawai’i, Mary joined him for a wonderful visit and second honeymoon. He finished his Coast Guard career in 1960 and was able to return to the telephone company. In December of 1960, their daughter Pamela was born. Rex attended worship services with Mary at the church of Christ on 10th and Termino in Long Beach, and in 1962, he obeyed the gospel and was baptized. They lived in an apartment across the street from the church building at that time then moved to their first house on Palo Verde and later Coralite Street in 1967 where he lived until his passing.

Rex was an avid bowler and really good, too! He was approached to go “professional” but didn’t like the idea of traveling and being away from his wife and daughter. He also was a fine golfer, being introduced to it back in Arkansas. Through the years, he played in, organized and was invited to participate in numerous tournaments. His trophy collection is representative of his skill and successes.

He also succeeded in his career with the telephone company. No longer in the field, he climbed the corporate ladder and quickly rose at the management level. He won multiple awards and accolades for his outstanding achievements in sales including “Salesman of the Year” more than once. He served on the board at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital alongside Betty White. Before he retired, he was in charge of all major accounts in Los Angeles County.

In 1986, Rex and Mary’s grandson, Joshua, was born. Josh and his grandpa had an amazing connection and he was Rex’s pride and joy. They spent a lot of time together with Josh’s sports and activities, building things in the garage and Rex teaching Josh how to play golf. He was always glad to pull out a picture from his wallet and talk about his grandson. Rex was a role model and father figure to Josh and loved him dearly. 

Rex humbly served as an elder for the church of Christ on Studebaker Road in Long Beach. He was devoted to standing for the truth and was an example to all who knew him. He served in that capacity until his and Mary’s parents started having health problems and needed extra time and attention.

Rex continued golfing as long as he could and also loved going to the El Dorado Golf Course Restaurant (his favorite restaurant) and seemed to know everyone there. He was loving and devoted to caring for his wife throughout their 59 years together and during her illness. After Mary’s passing in 2018, he continued staying active, attending church services, going to the putting greens on occasion, and taking trips to Knott’s Berry Farm. Rex loved to talk and made friends easily. He loved his family, church family, neighbors, friends and golf buddies. His mobility then started slowing him down as did his memory. He received a diagnosis just last year of Alzheimer’s Dementia, and that rapidly progressed. In August, of 2024, he turned 90 years old and had a small celebration at the Senior Center in Long Beach. He had made some new friends there and especially loved chair volleyball! On New Year’s Eve, he was non responsive and taken to UCI Health-Los Alamitos. Although he slightly rallied for a bit, his heart gave out and he peacefully passed away at 10:15 on Saturday, January 18th.

He will truly be missed, but not forgotten by his daughter, grandson, family, friends and all who knew him.