William Ewing

William S. “Bill” Ewing was born November 18, 1941 in Mena, Arkansas and passed away July 19, 2012 in Prineville, Oregon. He was 70. A memorial service will be held August 4, 2012 at the Prineville Funeral Home at 2:30 pm with a celebration of life/wake following in the home of Bill & Diana. A private internment will be at the Juniper Haven Cemetery at a later date.

Bill moved to Prineville in 1958 from Magnolia, Texas with his parents King and Margaret (Affholter) Ewing and three sisters, Virginia, Peggy and Mary Francis. Following a serious car accident in 1959, Bill spent the next 53 years confined to a wheelchair. He graduated from Crook County High School, the class of 1960. He met the love of his life, Diana (Foster) in 1962 and they married December 22, 1967. Following a short “blip” in their married life in 1986, they remarried December 22, 1987.

Following high school, Bill attended COCC and then became an insurance agent from 1967 until 1986. During this time Bill became active in the Prineville Jaycees, working his way through all of the local offices. On the State level, he served as State Committee Chairman, State Vice President for the Central Oregon area, and National Director covering the Eastern half of the State. He was inducted into the Oregon JCI Senate in 1975.

In 1974, Bill ran for and was elected Crook County Commissioner, serving January 1975 to January 1979. He was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election in 1978, but was re-elected in 1982 and served a second term from 1983 to April, 1986. At this time Bill made a career change which took him away from Prineville. For the next 20 plus years he worked as a City Manager for the Cities of Drain, Falls City and Nyssa, Oregon. Following his retirement, Bill and Diana returned to Prineville in June of 2010.

Bill and Diana had no children of their own, but were avid fans of high school sports and followed many teams throughout the State. For more than 30 years you could see Bill in the stands at football, basketball, baseball and track sporting events. In many cases he followed an athlete throughout their elementary, middle school and high school careers and continued to do so through this past spring, attending the 2012 OSAA State Track Meet watching his great niece from Hermiston.

During his life Bill lived by the Jaycee Creed of “Service to Humanity is the Best Work of Life”. He actively participated in local events and served on many boards and commissions for the communities he lived in. Before moving from Prineville he was a member of the Crook County Sports Boosters, served on the United Way Board as a member and past chair, represented Crook County on the Central Oregon Health Systems Council, served on the Crook County Juvenile Council, was appointed to serve on the Governor’s Committee on Handicapped Individuals by Gov. Robert Straub and volunteered many years at the Pari-Mutuel racing event. While living in Drain, he was a member of the Drain Lion’s, was elected to the Drain Rural Fire District Board, served on the North Douglas County Economic Development Committee, was a member of the Oregon Municipal Electrical Utilities Board and past president, Drain Chamber of Commerce Executive Board, Douglas County Transportation Committee, and was a member of the North Douglas County Sports Boosters. In Nyssa he was an individual member of the Nyssa Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, Nyssa Community Resource Team member, Malheur County Industrial Rail Committee member, chaired the Malheur County 9-1-1 Committee, member of the ODOT Transportation Safety Study for Highways 20-26-201, served on the Nyssa Middle School Bond Committee, and was an active member of the Nyssa Sports Boosters.

In recognition of Bill’s active life he received the following awards: Governor’s Outstanding Handicapped Worker 1968 Award for Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson County; Citizen of the year for Crook County 1971, Outstanding Young Men nomination and listing 1972 and 1975; Edward L. Bennett Award for Outstanding National Director for the Oregon Jaycees 1975, Nyssa School Board Honoree of the Month twice, and too many commendations throughout the years to list.

Bill is survived by his wife of 44 years, Diana, his sister Peggy Joyce (Ewing) Fall, foster-daughter Patty, nephews and nieces: Brett Rogers, Tracy (Rogers) Schmidt, Danny Ditmore, Travis Hale, Brian Hale, Yancey Fall, Penny (Ditmore) Wimbish, Jason Fall and Michelle Hale; and 14 great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Virginia (Rogers) and Mary Francis (Hale), two brother-in-laws Steven Fall and Lester Hale and a nephew Rich Schmidt.

Special thanks go out to his doctor of 9 years, Dr. Niknam Eshraghi (Oregon Burn Center); Dr. Michael E. Feldman and Dr. Richard H. Bochner (Bend Memorial Clinic) and their staff who have cared for him the past 2 years; and to special friends Patricia Scholz, Fred and Dar Martin, who provided assistance to Bill during the last 2 weeks of his life, and to his sister-in-law and special friend Carol Fitzgerald.

In lieu of flowers, donations in the memory of Bill can be made to the Oregon Burn Center c/o Emanuel Medical Center Foundation, 2801 N Gantenbein Portland, Oregon 97227