William Henry Tebeau

“An Engineer and A Pioneer”

November 23, 1925 - July 5, 2013

William “Bill” Tebeau passed away on July 5, 2013 surrounded by his loving family. Bill was born November 23, 1925 in Baker, Oregon to Henry and Frances Tebeau. He is preceded in death by his father Henry William Tebeau, his mother Frances Binor, and his brother Edwin Tebeau. Bill is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Genevieve, and seven adoring children, Nancy, Camille, Cherilyn, Deni (William), Janine (Roland), Gale (Michael), and David (Diane). He had 13 grandchildren, Randy, Charlotte, David, Kimberly, Stacie, Janie, Mya, David Jr., Kahreen, Morgan, Aaron, Genevieve and Josiah. He had 12 great grandchildren, David, Allan, Kaila, Madison, Nicole, Randy Jr., Eliscionne, Cherelle, Jennifer, Anthony, Demitrius, and Tija. He also had 8 great, great grandchildren.

Bill was a history maker. He exuded both humility and pride when reminiscing about his life and achievements. At age 12, he joined the Boy Scouts and worked his way up to the Eagle Scout designation and the Order of the Arrow. In 1943, Bill graduated from Baker High School, and was admitted to Oregon State College (later named Oregon State University). In June, 1948 he became the first African American male student to graduate from Oregon State University, receiving his BS in Chemical Engineering. He talked of a normal college experience in the 1940’s, except for the less than a warm welcome when he checked in for his campus housing assignment. He had not indicated his race on his application, so as you can imagine, his arrival created quite a stir. Remember, this was nearly a decade before Oregon’s first fair-housing law. Deeds for many homes in Corvallis still contained clauses that restricted occupancy to Caucasians, unless employed as servants. Bill was told by the college Dean of Men that the school could not accommodate him, and suggested he would be better off down the road at the University of Oregon. Bill was not about to budge. A wonderful woman who ran a boarding house for many of the school’s foreign students found him a job with the fraternity next door, where Bill tended the furnace in exchange for a room in the basement. He earned his meals by helping in the kitchen, and worked summers at a bottling company. It was not easy attending school during a time of racial unrest, but Bill had nothing negative to say about his experience. During his college career, Bill was a member of Pi Mu Epsilon, an organization for promoting math proficiency. He also belonged to Alpha Phi Omega, the national college fraternity for those who had been involved in Boy Scouts.

After college, Bill returned to Baker, Oregon and studied on his own for his license as a Civil Engineer, during which time he met his lovely wife, Genevieve. Bill was hired by the Oregon State Highway Department in Baker (later renamed the Oregon Department of Transportation) in November 1948, and upon receipt of his Civil Engineering license, was promoted within the Department, and moved the family to Salem in 1956. Bill did everything from construction, surveying, planning, hydraulics, and highway/bridge design in his 36 year career, retiring in 1984, leaving an exceptional impact on the Department. In a 1988 article, the Director of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) said that Bill was a cornerstone for the planning and research of Oregon’s highway construction and improvement programs and was responsible for mapping Oregon’s cities, counties and urban areas. He also said that Bill had more influence on the education, personal development, and mentorship of ODOT employees than any other individual he could think of. Also, a Deputy Director at ODOT is quoted in a 2008 article that Bill was a great resource for any type of question you had – he was an endless volume of information – tremendous engineering knowledge. Bill was also a part-time engineering instructor at Chemeketa Community College beginning in 1958 and continuing after retirement from ODOT. Through this vehicle, he had the pleasure of teaching math, economics, thermal dynamics, physics, chemistry, engineering and other courses to many ODOT employees who were studying for engineering degrees. Bill worked with the Association of Engineering Employees to write a study guide for state examinations for engineering aide and highway engineering positions. In 1970, he was granted Teacher of the Year for his part-time work as an instructor at Chemeketa. Bill also had the honor of receiving Employee of the Year by the Oregon State Employee’s Association in 1971, and during that same period he received a Communication and Leadership award from Toastmasters International, District 7, based on his community achievements. His commitment to education did not stop at ODOT or Chemeketa. He was involved in a program at Jefferson High School in Portland that recruited high school seniors and prepared them to pass the engineering aide exam. Bill spoke proudly about his work and contributions as an engineer for ODOT and as an instructor at Chemeketa.

Bill’s interests ranged beyond the technical. The product of a musical family, he was a musician of some accomplishment himself, playing violin in his early years, and then the trumpet in high school. When he got to Corvallis, he played trumpet for both the Oregon State Band and for a studio band at the college’s radio station, KOAC. He and his friends in Baker City formed a dance band that toured eastern Oregon, and during World War II, he and a close friend played taps for fallen soldiers. While working in Baker at the Highway Department, he helped set up the Boy Scout Drum and Bugle Corps. Later, he worked with the Flamingo Drum and Bugle Corps in Salem.

More recently in 2008, Bill was honored by the Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers in an exhibit at the Salem Multicultural Institute celebrating Black History Month. This exhibit, entitled “Stories From a Peculiar Paradise” highlighted the lives of six Black men who made their marks in Oregon history. On January 30, 2008, during the exhibit reception, in addition to being one of the six men highlighted, he became the first recipient of the Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers Trailblazer Award that honors people of African American heritage who have blazed a trail for others being a pioneering first by excelling in their field, and an example of courage, determination, resilience and service. Also, Bill was featured in a book written and published by the Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers, entitled “Perserverance”. This book chronicles African American citizens of Oregon’s Marion and Polk counties that have moved the communities in which they lived ever forward toward full acceptance and recognition of their contributions.

Bill’s most recent honor was being inducted into the Oregon State University Engineering Hall of Fame. He received the College of Engineering Oregon Stater Award on February 26, 2010. This award honors OSU graduates who have made sustained and meritorious engineering and/or managerial contributions throughout their careers.

God gave many gifts to Bill. He is loved and adored beyond belief by his wonderful family and will be remembered by his soft-spoken voice and quiet, but huge presence. Pride overflows from his family for his trailblazing and positive example of living a life with humility and courage. Whenever anyone left his home after visiting, he would always say to them “Make it a great day”. Bill loved to watch the TV Land cable channel. His favorite shows included I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Star Trek and The Cosby Show. He loved all John Wayne movies, Sister Act 2, Snowdogs and both the Wizard of Oz and The Wiz. You could find him watching these movies every Friday and Saturday night with his family.

A Celebration of Bill’s Life will be held from 2:00pm – 5:00pm on Saturday, July 20, 2013 at Center 50 + located at 2615 Portland Rd NE, Salem, OR 97301. Arrangements made by Howell Edwards Doerksen Funeral Directors. To make online condolences visit www.hed-fh.com

“A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again” – Maya Angelou

Bill’s family would like to thank the Oregon Health Sciences University for the care they gave to our daddy and the support they gave to us.