Obituary for
William "Bill" F. Everitt
William F. (Bill) Everitt
March 17, 1917 – March 1, 2016
Dad was born in a log cabin built by his father, Couerde Vine Everitt and mother Mary L (Winner) Everitt near the small town of Leslie, Idaho.
After a time the family moved to Eden, Idaho where they operated a dry goods store. As difficult times occurred in that business the family moved to Meridian, Idaho, to a small farm where Dad spent much time completing farm chores while attending and eventually graduation from Meridian High School in 1934. After high school he took a job working in the poultry industry. One weekend night he and his best friend headed to the local dance vowing not to dance with any girls they knew. It was there he met our Mom, Ann Egan, a nursing student at St. Alphonso Hospital. They were married in 1939 and after a couple of years moved to Salem, Oregon where Dad took the position as manager of Northwest Poultry Company. That move was soon followed by the plant manager position at Oregon Turkey Growers in West Salem. In 1952, Dad became owner and plant manager of the Silver Falls Turkey Processors in Silverton, Oregon. In 1958, the business was moved to Front Street in Salem and became known as Pilgrim Turkey Packers. Dad moved away from the turkey processing business and took a job at Walling Sand & Gravel and later with the State of Oregon in the Agriculture Department. It was from there he retired in 1984.
As a member of the greatest generation and a veteran of the Army during WWII, he learned to fly using his GI Bill in 1947. Over the years he owned several airplanes and logged several thousand hours of flight time.
In retirement, Dad & Mom spent years traveling in their RV, wearing out four motorhomes. They traveled thousands of miles across the U.S. with several trips to Alaska, their favorite place to visit. Dad enjoyed flying his plane to his favorite fishing spot in Canada, being a grandpa, great grandpa, and great great grandpa. He and Mom attended many sporting events to watch their grandchildren and were Beaver basketball and football season ticket holders for many years. Always looking after and caring for his family he was always available to lend a hand, help with a project or just listen and offer advice. He truly was a great man, who was liked by all and never, ever talked poorly about anyone. He will be dearly missed.
Dad was preceded in death by his wife of nearly 65 years, Ann, daughter Sandra
(age 20), brother Harold, sister Althea and great grandson Nicholas (age 7).
He is survived by son, Michael (Shirley) Everitt of Turner. daughter Deborah Everitt of Philomath; brother Herb (Rae) Everitt of Keizer; and brother Jerry (Glenna) Everitt of Lacey, WA. Grandchildren Ronda Olsen (partner Greg) of Lyons, Michael (Missey) Olsen of Monument, CO , Jeff Olsen of Long Beach, CA, Brian (Jamie) Everitt of Turner and Josh Everitt (and soon to be wife, Jackie) of Turner. Also surviving are 7 great grandchildren, 5 great great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the folks from Willamette Valley Hospice for their kindness and care over the past several months, which helped us navigate these difficult times. A very special thank you to his in-home caregivers: Nora, Sandy, Loretta and Sue whose care, compassion and genuine love for our Dad made these last four years very comfortable for him. They truly are angels among us.
Our hearts are saddened but our spirits are uplifted with the memories he left us. He set the bar high for what it means to live a good life, a life that blessed us all.
