Bill Wambeke 1 - Deaver, Wyoming
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T0SHEA
N 44° 53.456 W 108° 35.800
12T E 689778 N 4973644
The Bill Wambeke 1 dedicated bench is located in the Veteran War Memorial Park at the corner of 1st Avenue and W. 1st Street. There are three dedicated benches that honor him in the park.
Waymark Code: WMW36G
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 07/04/2017
Views: 0
William T. "Bill" Wambeke was born February 23, 1921 in Wyoming and passed away January 6, 2013 in Lovell, Wyoming. He served in the Navy during WWII.
”Mr. Wambeke was born Feb. 23, 1921, south of Deaver to Ivo and Alice Wambeke. He grew up on the farm and was instilled with an ethic of hard work from his experiences of digging, loading and unloading sugar beets by hand.
He received his schooling in Deaver, and in June of 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was a Seaman 1st Class gunner on merchant marine ships, sailing to the South Pacific, India and Russia.
While docked in San Francisco in 1945, he phoned his long-time sweetheart, Helen Eyre, and asked her to marry him. They were wed in Billings, Mont., on Sept. 14, 1945. The newlyweds made a series of moves from Boise, Idaho to California and finally back to the Big Horn Basin.
During the early years of marriage, Mr. Wambeke did carpentry work, helping to build Cody's hospital and many homes in the Powell area. Farming was his main love, however, as he farmed around the Deaver area for more than 40 years until his death. He took great satisfaction in being able to help his sons in their farming operations as well.
Mr. Wambeke took a keen interest in the lives of his six children and was a strong supporter of their involvement in FFA, 4-H, school and sports. He was especially proud of the fact that he was able to offer all his children a college education.
He loved his family dearly and leaves behind many happy memories of hunting and camping. He and Helen also loved to travel and took two trips to Belgium to visit relatives.
He was influential in the organization of the 4-H livestock sale in Lovell. He also served 25 years on the Deaver Irrigation District board and on the Deaver Cemetery Board.
He will be greatly missed by his family.”
Source: Powell Tribune
