William James Donoho's Obituary
A long life well-lived describes Bill Donoho’s life on earth. William James Donoho was born on October 19, 1932, in Mayfield, KY to Edward Walter Donoho and Iva (nee) Ridgeway. He passed away on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the age of 92.
Bill’s early days were spent farming and helping run the family dairy. His early school years began in a one-room schoolhouse, 2 ½ miles from home. When the family of eight moved to Sedalia, KY, to a 75-acre farm, they used horses to cultivate the land. Bill stayed out of school for half a year to help his father get established on the farm.
In 1951, during the Korean War, Bill and several of his classmates left high school early to enlist in the Air Force. Bill found basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, TX, easy because he got to sleep later and had less physical work than life on the farm. He got his GED and began a career in the military police and later excelled in electronics and airplane maintenance.
On assignment in Shreveport, LA, he met the Provost Marshall's secretary, A/1C Dorothy Joan Heffner, whom he later married in 1955. He was very proud that they had almost reached 70 years of marriage.
Bill and Dorothy were transferred to Wiesbaden, Germany, where two of their four daughters were born. Back in the states, they lived in Kentucky, where a third daughter was born and a fourth was born in Peru, IN. The family also lived in Minot, ND; Dover, DE; Great Falls, MT; Colorado Springs, CO and Layton, UT.
Bill retired as a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force after 29+ years of service in 1978. He achieved the highest possible rank for a non-commissioned officer. As he liked to say, “not bad for a high school dropout, son of a sharecropper.” Following his retirement, he worked for several more years for defense contractor Dynamics Research Corporation as a data analyst. With that second career, he and Dorothy spent more time in Germany, then Montana and Idaho.
When Bill and Dorothy officially retired, they settled in Plain City, UT, near two of their daughters. He loved planting and maintaining his fruit orchard, walnut trees and large garden for many years.
Bill and Dorothy enjoyed years with their four daughters and their families (8 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and one great-great grandson): Deb Doan (Lee) and daughters Christina and Kelsey, great grandchildren Maddie and Silas, and great-great grandson Kaspian; Diana Royval (Larry) and grandchildren Adam (Kylie) and Holly (Brad); Dixie Cordova (Dan) and grandchild Whitney (Scott) and great grandchildren Cord, Romee and Stevie; Delia Donohoo (Walt) and grandchildren Bryan, Brett and Brad (Mallorie) and great grandchildren Kane, Eislee, Kohen, Phoebe and Daphne.
The family would like to thank Bill and Dorothy’s neighbors and friends for all their help over the years. In addition, a heartfelt thank you to his team of caregivers at the VA, Amada Senior Care and Atlas Hospice services.
An open-house memorial service for Bill will be held Tuesday, Dec. 3, from 4 to 6 p.m., at Premier Funeral Services, 5335 S 1950 W in Roy, UT.
In lieu of flowers, please just cherish the time you have with your loved ones.
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