William \'Bill\' G. York, 92 Hermiston, OR, formerly of Upham died Thursday, June 27, 2013 at Regency Nursing Home.

Bill was born March 3, 1921 at Selfridge, N.D. the son of Vern and Archilene (McLaughlin) York. He was raised and educated at Selfridge and assisted with the operation of the family farm during his younger years. Bill enrolled with the Civillian Conservation Corps at Foxholm, N.D. for two years and was united in marriage to Elaine Frishman on November 7, 1941 at Sidney, Montana. They made their home on a farm near Deering, N.D. prior to his entry into active duty service with the U.S. Army in 1943. He honorably served his Country in the Pacific Theatre of World War II as a surgical technician until he was discharged on December 31, 1945 and returned to the family farmstead.

Bill and Elaine moved to Minot in 1948, where he was employed with Borstad Motor and Main Motors as a mechanic. He also worked for Union Truck Equipment and later Cenex Transportation for 21 years prior to his retirement in 1982. Bill and Elaine had two children. A son, Gary and a daughter, Gayla. He had 7 grand-children, 7 great grand-children and 8 step great grand-children. Elaine died May 6, 1988.

On December 25, 1988 , he married Shirley Osgood and gained 2 step sons as well as their wives and children giving him 7 step grand-children and 7 step great grand-children.

Bill and Shirley lived in Rouge River, OR when they first married and later moved to Deering, ND. After that, they traveled in their motor home staying near children most of the time. They also lived in Upham, N.D. and Florence, OR. They moved to Stanfield, OR in 2010 and in the Fall of that year, Bill moved into Regency Nursing Home in Hermiston, OR where he was well cared for and loved by the staff members.

Bill loved to fish, travel, gardening, waterskiing and visits with friends and family. He was incredibly creative and could fix just about anything and loved creating new things and he thrived on helping others. He liked to work on broken down machinery. He played the harmonica upside down. His father bought him one when he was around 2 year old and that was how he learned to play. He brought joy to many people when he played.

Bill was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Minot. He helped to build the church, served as Elder and in a number of other capacities. He was also a member of the local Teamsters Union.

Bill\'s is survived by his loving family wife, Shirley York, Stanfield, OR, son, Gary (Karen) York, Thief River Falls, MN., daughter, Gayla (Leon) Schmidtbauer, Alexandria, MN; six grandchildren,; seven great-grandchildren, 2 step-sons, Ed(Vicky) Osgood, Richland, WA., Rod (Wendy) Osgood, Irrigon, OR., 14 step grand-children and 15 step great-grandchildren.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, wife, Elaine, grandchild, Christopher York and brothers, Ben and Thomas York.

Bill was a loving father and husband and will be greatly missed.

Graveside service: Sunday, July 21, 2013 at 1:00pm in the Little Deep Cemetery, rural Upham.
A memorial service followed by fellowship at the Seventh Day Adventist Church starting at 3pm.