Bill Whitney passed away at Salem Hospital on April 5, 2021. He was preceded in death by wife June (Hampton) Whitney; parents, William and Oletha Whitney; brothers, Jack, Archie, and Harold; and sister, Margie. He is survived by sister, Judy (Neal) Irving; children, Joe (Cindy) Whitney, Susan (Randy) Budlong, Rita (Terry) Lockrem, Rosie (Verlyn) Aerni, and Cindy (Max) Bilyeu. He is also survived by numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.
Bill was born on June 10, 1931 in Prosser, Washington. When he was a boy, he realized that strawberries were in season on his birthday. His mom started making strawberry shortcake for him every year. This tradition continued throughout his entire life. Bill also made his mother’s recipe of homemade noodles with chicken for the family to enjoy on his birthday each year.
Bill grew up on a farm which cemented his love for animals. He would later work on a dairy but had many other jobs throughout the years. He was a logger, a construction worker, and a cookware salesman. He drove an ice cream truck and owned a small Shake Mill business. He also had a trampoline business, The business he loved the most was his Christmas tree business. He sold trees in and around Palm Desert, California for over 60 years.
About five years ago, while working on his tree farm, he had a stroke. His kids took 24 hour shifts for four years, caring for him in his home. On year five, his health deteriorated further. He then moved into the long term care facility at Tierra Rose in Salem. He passed away just two months shy of his 90th birthday. We were looking forward to having his traditional strawberry shortcake and homemade noodles.
