Whether it was Junior, Bill, Father William, Dr. Iron, or Doc, the man who late in life like to refer to himself as W. Zachariah Iron, PhD, was loved and respected by many over the years. He passed away quietly in the early hours of May 12, 2015. He will be greatly missed.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Virginia, and is survived by his three children, Sherrideth Leigh of Seattle, Danna Lou Vanosse (Wayne) of Portland, and Patricia Lianne of Lake Oswego, his second wife, Katherine(Kathy) Meads of Tigard, and stepchildren, Jennifer Frank (Brandon) of Tigard and Gary Meads of Redmond, Washington.

Born on February 4, 1926, as one of the first caesarian babies in Idaho, Bill grew up on a ranch outside of Twin Falls where he learned to ride horses, drive teams, build fences, plow and irrigate fields along with all the myriad of chores that the ranch piled on. Wanting to be a pilot during World War II, he found an ear problem from childhood made that impossible, so he joined the Navy and served as a radar man on a light cruiser in the South Pacific. After V-J Day, his ship put into port at one of Japan’s infamous bomb sites, which made a lasting impression on him.

After his discharge, he was able to take advantage of the GI Bill and attend Linfield College (1950), majoring in history and literature, minoring in philosophy. During this time, he met up with a childhood acquaintance and violinist, Virginia Leigh Byer, also from Idaho and attending Linfield. They were married from 1948 – 1991, when she died at age 64. After that time, he reestablished a friendship with Kathy during which time they travelled together to Australia and several countries in Europe. They found a delightful house to buy in Tigard in 1996 and were eventually married in 2009.

Bill truly enjoyed camping outdoors, frequently scouting out the best places to fly fish in Oregon’s rivers and lakes. When he wasn’t outdoors, he loved to play chess and spent hours with friends out maneuvering their warring board pieces. An aficionado of the look, feel, and weight of each piece, he ultimately collected over 30 distinct chess sets.

Bill spent most of the 50’s and the early 60’s teaching various classes in English, speech and drama in the Reedsport, Silverton, and North Eugene High Schools. In 1962, he accepted a job at Lewis and Clark College teaching theatre and directing, thus fulfilling an early prediction that he would become a college professor.

During these years he obtained his Masters (1960) and Doctorate (1968) in Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon. After Lewis and Clark, he went on to teach and eventually lead the department of Theatre at Grand Valley State Colleges in Michigan. Later he returned to Oregon where he completed his career at Willamette University, the majority of that time as Chairman of the Theatre Department and retiring in 1991.

Throughout his life, Bill loved to travel. His favorite country was New Zealand where he made several friends while on sabbatical, but his most remarkable experience was when he led a troupe of students on a USO theatre tour throughout the Asian-Pacific region. For months, they entertained the troops in Japan, Okinawa, and South Korea with the musical Destry Rides Again.

During his life and well into his retirement years, he was a consummate writer, reader, and collector of books. His writings included essays, commentary, poetry, plays, and lyrics for numerous musicals. His talents led him to direct shows ranging from the classics to the contemporary for colleges, community theatres, and the Western Michigan opera association.

The family will be holding a memorial for him on June 20 at 2:00 at Stanford’s Restaurant (14801 SW Kruse Oaks Blvd.) in Lake Oswego. The White Wolf Sanctuary on the Oregon coast was one of his favorite charitable organizations. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to it at P. O. Box 65, Tidewater, OR 97390 or online at www.whitewolfsanctuary.com.