Donald Elwood Willits
October 6, 1922 – January 10, 2013
Don Willits, 90, of Bainbridge Island WA, passed away January 10, 2013 at Harrison Hospital in Bremerton, WA after a brief return bout with pneumonia.
Don was born to Charlie and Mae Willits in Ripon, CA on October 6, 1922. The family moved to Covina (CA) in the heart of southern California orange grove country in early 1923. Charlie worked as a truck driver and Mae worked in an orange packing facility, and later as a nurse. Don’s high school years were dominated by cars, dating, and football. He graduated from Covina High School in January 1940.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Don enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force. He rose to the rank of sergeant and was stationed in the Pacific Theater as a chief mechanic on B-24 “Liberator” bomber. After World War II, Don attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo before returning to Covina and taking a job with the Bank of America. He met his future wife and life-long partner-to-be Carol at the Willows Lounge in West Covin,a CA in 1948. They married in Santa Maria, CA on December 17, 1949, and honeymooned in Santa Barbara, CA before beginning married life in Covina. In 1952 Don was called up from the Army reserves to serve as an active-duty Military Police officer during the Korean Conflict, and was stationed at Camp Cook, north of Ventura (CA).
Don and Carol’s son Patrick was born in 1953, and son Christopher was born in 1955. Don worked for Stortz’s Floor Covering in Covina and later the Arnstein Carpet Company in City of Industry, CA before joining Carol working together at the South Hills Escrow Company in the Covina office from1972 to 1978, and then as partners/owners of the Heritage Escrow Company in Covina from 1978 to 1986, until retiring. They moved to Lake Wohink, near Florence, OR, in 1990, and later to Bainbridge Island in 2005.
Don was the patriarch of a uniquely “Willits” way of looking at a world. He was known for his quick wit, his self-deprecating sense of humor, and his big heart. He was a master story-teller with an encyclopedic repertoire of dry jokes and anecdotes, which he delighted in telling and retelling, sometimes more than the listener delighted in hearing. He was forever surrounded by his friends. Likewise, Don was always the dedicated father and, later in life, grandfather who made sure he attended every school and sporting event he possibly could, to support and root on his loved ones, no matter how much they played or how well their team performed.
Don was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Lion’s Club, the Florence, OR Elks Club, the Florence RV Club, and the Peace Harbor (Florence, OR) Hospital Guild. In their personal life, Don and Carol will be remembered for quietly and unceremoniously choosing to serve as benefactors to provide for the college education of one of their young employees, Lilly Lu, of Monterey Park, CA. Socially, their many friends in Covina CA, at Villa Italiana near Rosarito Beach, Baja Mexico and Florence, OR, including their circle of avid RV enthusiasts, remember Carol and Don together for their long-standing marriage and partnership, accented by their wit, humor, sense of taste, love and caring for all their friends, their family, and for each other.
Don is survived by his son Christopher, his wife Elizabeth, and their daughters Natalie and Grace, all of Bainbridge Island; his son Patrick, his wife Debra, their daughter Samantha, and their son Orion, all of Ridgway, CO; and a nephew Chuck Hessenflow of Cincinnati, OH. Don was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Dorothy Hessenflow of Santa Maria, CA and by his wife of 62 years, Carol, who passed away January 11, 2012.
A memorial service celebrating Don’s life was held at the Cook Family Funeral Home, Bainbridge Island, on Saturday, January 12, 2013.
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