With his family by his side, Wilbur Vanderbeck passed away in his home in Marquam, Oregon on June 11. He was 94 years old.

Wilbur's story began on May 12, 1930, in a farmhouse in St. Louis, Oregon. Born to Alphonse and Antoinette Vanderbeck. He was the only child from that union. He had 4 half siblings from Alphonse's first marriage to Theresa Ferschweiler... Cyril, Alphonse "Bob", Ethel and Theresa. He had 1 more half sibling from Antoinette's first marriage to Clarence Gardner...Leroy "Whitey" Gardner. He lived in the house in St. Louis until 1935. His dad Alphonse had a heart attack in the barn when Wilbur was 5 years old. Antoinette's sister and brother-in-law (Ellen and Orville Hook) owned the now Vanderbeck property in Marquam. In 1935 after the death of her husband, Antoinette purchased the property from her sister and brother-in-law and Wilbur moved to the farm with his mother and brothers where he has lived ever since.

Antoinette and Wilbur's brothers Bob and Whitey ran a dairy on the Vanderbeck Jersey Farm. Owned and operated by Mrs. A. Vanderbeck and Sons, they produced Grade A Jersey milk and bred registered Jersey cattle. When Wilbur was old enough, he would deliver the milk to the creamery in Mt. Angel. Wilbur attended St. Mary's Grade School in Mt. Angel and attended Mt. Angel Prep School for grade 9 and part of grade 10. Halfway through Grade 10 he decided it was more beneficial for his family to work on the farm, so he quit school and never went back.

One of his first jobs was for George "Junior" White helping out with the farming. Junior became a father figure to Wilbur and he and Junior had a very special bond until Junior passed away in the 1990's. He continued to run the dairy with his mom and brothers.

In 1953 local Marquam girl Darline Toepfer was a senior at Mt. Angel Academy. Darline sent a letter to Wilbur asking him to take her to her senior prom. Two weeks later he called her with his answer...NO, because he couldn't dance. Needless to say, she missed her senior prom. Three weeks later Wilbur called to ask Darline on a triple date with friends to Eugene. They went together for 14 months before marrying on October 9, 1954, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Mt. Angel. They settled on the farm in Marquam where they reared 3 children. Cindy born in 1957, Carey born in 1959 and Wendy born in 1967. Their first baby Vivian was born August 15, 1956, but sadly passed away at 6 days old.

In addition to the dairy, Wilbur started growing berries with Darline's father Jake Toepfer. Their wild and rare Santiam Wild Mountain Blackberries were sold to Harry and David in Medford, Oregon. Wilbur also worked for Avison Lumber Co. during those early years. Wanting to strike out on his own he started a logging/ cat work business with Frank Mack. Wilbur bought out Frank in 1962 and Vanderbeck Logging Co. was born. He incorporated in 1972. He did skidder logging for a while and then graduated to high lead or tower logging up the

Collawash River. During those years he also started doing excavation work for dairies. In 1984 Wilbur shut down all of the logging and focused only on the excavation and log trucking. Most of the dairy ponds in our area were built by Wilbur and his son in law Michael. Logging and log trucking was in Wilbur's blood. He was a logger through and through to the end. He even went out of this world in his favorite Red Wing work boots!

Wilbur "retired" in 2012 passing on the torch of the company to his son in law Michael Burton. The company name was changed to Vanderbeck Trucking & Excavating, Inc. and Wilbur has continued to mentor the younger generation with his knowledge of pond building and land clearing.

Wilbur loved his antique cars, a 1931 Model A and 1924 Model T. He showed them off at parades every chance he got and recently won 1st place at the 2023 Fourth of July parade in Mt. Angel with the Model A. Both cars have been used by him to chauffeur many a bride to make her grand entrance for her wedding ceremony... 62 to be exact! He loved the beautiful brides and chatting with them while they waited for the "it's time" signal, His favorite thing to ask the brides when he would get to the end of the driveway was "do you want to go left or do you want to go right?" Meaning, "do you want to go to your ceremony, or do you want to hit the highway?" Wilbur chauffeured brides from 2009-2023. He thoroughly enjoyed and took his "job" very seriously.

Wilbur was preceded in death by his wife Darline and his daughter Vivian. He is survived by his children Cindy, Carey, Rose, Michael and Wendy; five grandchildren: lan, Chad, Audra, Wil and Madi; 2 great grandchildren: Barrett and Charlotte.

A rosary will be held June 27 12:30pm and funeral mass 1pm at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Mt. Angel. Interment is at Calvary Catholic Cemetery. Arrangements by Unger Funeral Chapel, Silverton. The family will hold a Celebration of Life on July 7th 1pm at Vanderbeck Valley Farm.

The family extends a heartfelt thank you to Wilbur's live in caregiver, niece Mary Toepfer Gwinup, caregiver Marie Angstrom and everyone at Beloved Hospice who helped Wilbur through his last days. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland.

Wilbur's favorite thing to say when someone would ask him if they could get him anything was..."I'll take a million dollars!" He's still waiting!