Considerable cloudiness. Low 29F. Winds light and variable..
Considerable cloudiness. Low 29F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: December 20, 2022 @ 7:39 pm
Myrt (Vandehey) Williams
Myrt (Vandehey) Williams
Myrt passed away peacefully on November 13, 2022 after an ongoing battle with Lewy Body Dementia. Myrt was able to visit with family in her final week which brought her much comfort.
Myrt was born at the beginning of the Great Depression to Helen and Gus Vandehey on a farm in Verboort, Oregon. Being the oldest girl of 8 children, she worked on the farm and helped with her younger siblings. It wasn’t until the birth of her last three brothers that Helen went to the hospital for the births. Originally the farm lacked indoor plumbing and running water. They sold eggs and strawberries as well as grew grain and raised cows. Times were tougher than most of us can imagine.
She attended grade school at Greenville elementary and went to high school in Banks.
After school, while working at the Tip Top Restaurant in Forest Grove she met the love of her life Wayne (Willie) Williams. When she refused to loan him money to take her out, he borrowed it from his sister Lois. That would turn into the beginning of a 63 year marriage that was filled with love and devotion. They were married at St. Francis of Assis in Roy, Oregon on January 13, 1951.
Just before the birth of their first child Kathy in November of 1951, Myrt quit working to be a stay-at-home mom. Wayne continued to work for Diamond Lumber working his way up from the green chain to the head Millwright Electrician. Ken was born in November of 1952 and Patti followed in October of 1956. After a family trip to Alaska in 1958, Diamond Lumber moved the mill to the air base in Tillamook. The family moved to Netarts for a short period of time before they settled on 3 acres along Netarts Bay on the way to Cape Lookout State Park. The family would live in an 8 x 40 trailer while they built a house which they moved into in 1964.
After the kids were in school, Wayne encouraged her to start her own business. In late 1965 they bought property down the hill from the house on Netarts Bay and opened Wee Willie’s Restaurant on Memorial Day in 1966. Originally it seated 65 and by 1987 when it was sold, they were serving 200 to 2000 people a day. It grew at a rate that required help outside of the family to be hired and in 1983 Patti and her husband came to work full time. Myrt was constantly tweaking recipes, revising the menu, and making the operation more efficient. She was well known for her baked goods—it was not unheard of to make several hundred pies a week and dozens of batches of cookies. Wee Willie’s Restaurant was featured in major magazines, United Airlines literature and books on hiking, travel and biking. During this time Wayne was promoted to foreman at Diamond Lumber, but didn’t enjoy the position. He started his own portable sawmill and started cutting alder for a paint brush handle factory in Bay City.
In 1969 Wayne was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Myrt’s life would change dramatically. She would now be the sole breadwinner as well as the main caregiver for Wayne. With the help of Dr. Swank at OSHU she turned the grim diagnosis around and after several years Wayne was able to physically get around; work at the restaurant; and enjoy reading and his puzzles.
In 1978 they bought property up the Trask River, but didn’t move up there until 1987 when they sold the restaurant. They built a beautiful home and started a Christmas tree farm. They had also purchased property in the Three Rivers Recreational Area near Madras, Oregon. Ken built a cabin there. They finished the inside which included many “off grid” features. The family spent many Christmas Holidays there playing cards and board games, building snow men and sitting by the fire. Even though the house on the Trask was secluded and had an abundance of birds and wildlife; the maintenance of both properties and the long, dreary winters were catching up to them.
In 2004 they sold the cabin and in 2005 the house on the Trask. They would then move to the Bend-Redmond area on 2.5 acres of flat property with a one level home. The weather was better and Ken was nearby working as a builder in the area. But by 2010-2011 Wayne’s MS was coming out of remission and by this time Ken had moved back to Tillamook to work as the Bend area had collapsed. So, the task of maintaining the homestead and taking care of Wayne became increasingly hard for Myrt. They made the decision to move back to the Portland area in 2013. Wayne passed away at the age of 86 on January 6, 2014. The quality and longevity of his life was a testament to the devotion and loving care Myrt provide.
Myrt moved in with Patti and her husband Eric in the Damascus area and would continue to enjoy gardening which had been a life long passion. Patti encouraged her to take up painting. She appears to have been the only one in the family to have artistic talent! She painted many landscapes and sold some at local art shows. Patti would continue to provide wonderful care for her as her disease gradually got the better of her. She was an “independent” hard headed Dutch woman, so it was devastating for her to lose the ability to do many of the things she loved.
She was preceded in death by her husband Wayne (Willie), her brothers Everett and Elmer Vandehey, and her sister, Ellamae Schneider.
She is survived by her daughter, Kathy Williams-Deskin, granddaughters Christine and Kali, son Ken Williams and grandsons Bruce and Garrett, and her daughter and son-in-law Patti and Eric Dahlquist and granddaughter and her husband Lindsay and Joshua Aden. She had 6 great grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be held at Forest Grove Senior and Community Center on March 11, 2023 from 11 am to 1 pm
The family suggests remembrances may be contributions to any organization supporting children.
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