William E. Waldo

William E. Waldo, 89, was born on May 10, 1922 in Boone, Iowa, to Lucien Harold and Amanda Elizabeth Waldo. At the age of two, he moved with his family to a farm near Polk City, Iowa. Bill graduated from Polk City High School in 1939 as the class salutatorian. He enlisted in the Marine Corp on January 6, 1942, at the beginning of World War II. After boot camp at the Marine base in San Diego, California, Bill was shipped overseas to the South Pacific for 27 months and participated in the battles of Kwajalein and Enewetak in the Marshall Islands.
After contracting a tropical disease in Samoa, he was transported to Oakland, California, for treatment and, after recovery, met the love of his life, Evelyn Pedersen, while on a 30-day leave in Iowa. Bill and Evelyn were married in Klamath Falls, Oregon, on September 3, 1944 and the following December, Bill was transferred to Camp Pendleton in California, joining the many other Marines preparing for the invasion of Japan. He was shipped overseas again in August of 1945 and landed in Pearl Harbor on the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. As a consequence of that event, his mission was changed and he was instead sent to a naval air station in Maui, Hawaii. Bill was finally shipped stateside in December of 1945, honorably discharged and arrived home on Christmas Eve, 1945.
In August of 1948, Bill and Evelyn, with their two young daughters, moved to Fort Collins. After working in various occupations in Fort Collins, he was a partner in Pedersen Brothers' Construction from 1953 through 1968, at which time he enrolled in Colorado State University, getting his degree in 1971. Thereafter, Bill was hired as a building inspector for the City of Fort Collins, becoming the Chief Building Official for the City in 1975, retiring in 1982.
After retirement, Bill and Evelyn had many happy years together, continuing to enjoy dancing, family get-togethers, camping, fishing, hunting, gardening and church activities until Evelyn's death in 2003.
Bill was fortunate to meet Alberta "Bert" Becksted, with whom he spent six happy years of companionship traveling, dancing and spending time with their large families.
Bill was a member of the Zion Lutheran Church in Wellington, which recently made him a lifetime honorary elder.
Bill is survived by his six daughters, Linda Schneider Chuck, Lana Emery John, Lucia Liley Bill, Cynthia Conklin Leo, Susan Harris Glen and Pam Cheatham Mark, and one son, John Waldo Becky. Another son, Mark, predeceased him. Bill is also survived by 18 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren with each of whom he had a close, playful and teasing relationship.
A funeral service will be held 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at River of Life Fellowship, 3161 E. County Rd. 62e, Wellington, Colorado. A graveside service with military honors by the Fort Collins All Veterans Honor Guard will follow at 2 p.m. , Wednesday at Grandview Cemetery.
Donations in Bill's name can be made to Pathways Hospice in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive, Ft. Collins, CO 80524.