William "Bill" Joseph Buchanan Obituary (1921 - 2017)

CAUTION: This is a work of nonfiction. No names have been changed, no characters invented, no events fabricated. We think. William (Bill) Joseph Buchanan passed away January 20th, 2017 in South Jordan, Utah at 95 years of age, after a lifetime of service. Bill was born October 26, 1921 in Aspen Colorado to William Asbury Buchanan and Honora (Nora) Ellen Sullivan. The family moved to Prescott and eventually other mining towns across Arizona to support Bill's father's mining career. Bill lost his mother when he was nine years old leaving his dad to raise Bill and his younger brother Ned by himself. Then Bill's father passed away when Bill was fourteen and Bill and his brother were now left to be raised by a foster mother, Rhoda Nolechek. Bill attended high school in Parker, Arizona and starred on the school's football, baseball, and basketball teams. Bill attended Arizona State Teacher's College in Flagstaff, Arizona (the predecessor of Northern Arizona University) on a football scholarship following high school. His college career was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. Following the spring term of 1942, Bill and three of his buddies drove to Phoenix and enlisted in the Navy. Bill was assigned to the Signalman grade and earned the rank of First Class. On Bill's first Armed Guard mission, his ship was sunk by German U-boat U-600 after only 5 days at sea early in the morning on his native holiday-St. Patrick's Day. After being rescued he was assigned to a ships crew on the carrier, USS Cabot. He was later transferred to the carrier, USS Fanshaw Bay, and assigned to the admiral's crew, serving with Admiral Gerald Bogan for the rest of the war. Bill eventually served on 11 different ships during the war. He was torpedoed, kamikazied, bombed, nearly killed by friendly fire, and had an American plane crash on the deck because the pilot was showing off and lost control. He also sailed through two typhoons, one of which killed over 1, 000 sailors of the Task Force and grabbed the front end of Bill's flight deck and curled it 180 degrees straight back. After the war, Bill returned to Pheonix, Arizona where he met and married Harriet Lorraine Liden in 1946. They soon settled in Flagstaff, AZ where they had two children: Susan June and Joseph William. This marriage ended in divorce in 1979. In 1981 Bill was introduced to Darhl Freer Botkin by Ferrell Freer, his business partner and Darhl's brother. Bill and Darhl married in September 1981 and were sealed for time and eternity a year later in the Jordan River Temple. They lived in Flagstaff, Arizona. Bill and Darhl loved to travel and served an LDS mission together in Charleston, South Carolina, from December 1992 to December 1993. In 2002, Bill and Darhl moved to South Jordan, Utah where they made lots of good friends. One of Bill's favorite activities there was his weekly lunch on Tuesdays with his brothers-in-law, Wayne Webb, Jack Brown and George Freer. Bill was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He served in any calling he was asked to do including Bishopric member, High Priest Group Leader, and was very active in Scouting. He served as the President of the Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts of America and was instrumental in building the boy scout camp, Camp Raymond, in Northern Arizona. For his years of service, he was awarded the Silver Beaver. Throughout his life, Bill was active in the Rotary Club in Flagstaff, Arizona. He served a term as President of the Flagstaff, Arizona club where he achieved perfect attendance for 29 years. While he served as President, the club provided service to the Gringo Pass Orphanage in Old Mexico through fund-raising and construction projects. The club received the Best Foreign Service award from Rotary International for their service. While a member of the club, he was given the assignment to create the second Rotary Club of Flagstaff. Bill was a partner in a successful wholesale plumbing business in Flagstaff and later in life was a partner in 8 Sizzler restaurants in Arizona and Colorado. Bill was an avid outdoorsman and loved spending time with family and friends; hunting, fly-fishing, golfing, camping, and traveling. His fishing adventures ranged from Chile to the Aleutian Islands. He especially loved his annual camping trips with his grandchildren. Bill is survived by his wife Darhl, and children; Susan, Joe, Terry, Diane, Lorrie and Aleta; 34 grandchildren and 54 great-grandchildren. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Ned Creighton Buchanan, and his granddaughter Jolenne Elizabeth Buchanan. Bill loved all, and was loved by all. He had a profound influence on everyone who met him. He loved life and lived life to the fullest and helped others do the same. He will be greatly missed. Funeral services will be on Friday, January 27, 2017 at the River Ridge 8th Ward Chapel, 1409 W. Shields Lane, South Jordan, a viewing will be held prior from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at the Salt Lake City Cemetery at 3:00 p.m. The family would like to thank Intermountain Home Health & Hospice employees Caleb and Pedro for their help and loving care. Funeral Home: Jenkins-Soffe South Valley 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway South Jordan, UT 84095