William "Willie" Joseph Verboort, Sr.

On Wednesday, June 24, 2020, William Joseph Verboort, Sr., succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 76. He was a loving husband, father of three and grandfather to eight.

Willie was born on December 30, 1943 in Hillsboro, Oregon to Wilfred and Marie Verboort. He graduated from Mt. Angel Preparatory High School in 1962 and served in the US Army Reserves for two and a half years before marrying Deanna Dorgan on July 27, 1963. Willie and Deanna relocated to Oroville, California where he was a merchandiser for Coast-to-Coast Hardware. Their first two children, William, Jr. (Will) and Victoria (Vicki), were born in Oroville. After relocating to Oregon for Willie's job, the family welcomed their third child, Jennifer.

Willie continued to work for Coast-to-Coast and eventually bought into his father's franchise in Mt. Angel. Willie and Deanna ran the local hardware business until 1983 when Willie accepted an opportunity to become the liquor store owner/agent in Woodburn. He spent 24 years as owner and operator of the Woodburn Liquor Store, pouring a lot of energy into growing the business. He retired in 2008.

Over the years, Willie was active in local politics, having served on the Mt. Angel City Council, as Mayor of the City of Mt. Angel and he was especially proud to have been the youngest founding member of the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest Board. As a younger man, he enjoyed spending free time fishing on the Oregon Coast and later, in retirement, Willie enjoyed many a casino trip and daily visits with his morning coffee buddies at Burger Time. While he enjoyed all these things, what brought Willie the most joy were his seven granddaughters and his grandson. Being a grandfather was one of the highlights of his life. His grandkids adored their grandpa.

Willie is survived by his wife of nearly 57 years, Deanna; his children, Will Verboort of Crooked Finger, Vicki and Tim Gray of Eugene, and Jennifer and Dan Stadeli of Silverton; his grandchildren, Emily (Gray) and Kenny Martin, Elizabeth Gray, Lindsay Verboort, Madison (Stadeli) and Stephen Freehling, Vanessa Verboort, Meghan Stadeli, Austin Verboort and Molly Stadeli; and his brother Richard and Theresa Verboort. His sister, Elizabeth Bochsler preceded him in death.

Visitation will be held at Unger Funeral Chapel in Mt. Angel, on Monday, June 29th, 5pm-7pm. A graveside service will be held at 10am, Tuesday, June 30th at the Calvary Cemetery in Mt. Angel. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Willie's honor to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.