Jess Albert Willard Obituary (1936

Jess Albert Willard, 84, a resident of the North Plains community passed away on Thursday morning, October 28, 2021 at his home. Jess was born November 24, 1936 in Anadarko, OK. He was the oldest of five children born to Charles and Thelma (Smith) Willard. The family lived in Houston, TX and he spent many summers on his Grandparents farm in Oklahoma. He attended school in Houston and upon graduation went into the Army. After his discharge he went to work for Braniff Airways in Houston. He met his wife Roberta "Bobbie" Cole when she transferred from St. Louis to Houston with the same airline. They met in May and were married by December of the same year (1959). His career with Braniff entailed several transfers and in 1970 he came to Oregon as District Sales Manager. He lived in Cedar Mill for over 20 years and then he and his wife built their dream home in 1992 on 23 acres in Mountaindale. This move granted him a big garden and a small Asian pear orchard that he took care of. The last years before retirement he was with All About Tours in Tigard. Because of his declining health, they moved into the town of North Plains in 2020. His is survived by his wife; Bobbie, two children; Stephanie (Scott) Neil of Banks, Rhonda (Ray) Evans of Woodland, WA, four Grandchildren; Corey, Charise, Casi and Lee and three Great Grandchildren; Logan, Kendall and Kaidyn.