Obituary for Willis Van Dyke Willis Burns Van Dyke died on July 3, 2014, in Roundup, Montana. World War II veteran and retiree of Continental Oil Pipeline Company, Willis was proud to be part of the Greatest Generation. He was born to William and Clara Van Dyke on September 27, 1920, in Musselshell, Montana. Like others of his era, his character and temperament were formed by the Great Depression and tested by World War II. He excelled as an American citizen who always put country and family first. Willis was raised on Strawberry Acres five miles west of Roundup along with nine brothers and sisters. He also had eight older half sisters and brothers from his dad’s previous marriage in Tazwell, Virginia. He attended Pine Hill Elementary School as a youngster before transferring to Roundup High School, graduating in 1938. During his Army career from July 25, 1942, through December 12, 1945, Willis went to basic training in Fort Ord, California, and was stationed at MacDill Field near Tampa, Florida, prior to his deployment in the Pacific Theater. He attended Army Air Corps Combat Intelligence School in Salt Lake City. His duties included the collection, evaluation, interpretation and distribution of enemy information and counter-intelligence. He was a member of the 58th Fighter Squadron achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. While serving his country in the U.S. Army Air Corps, he married Evelyn Grace Anderson on June 28, 1944, and the couple enjoyed 62 years of wedded bliss. After the war, Willis worked as a coal miner in the Roundup area and roughnecked on oil rigs prior to joining Continental Oil Company as a gauger in 1969. He retired in 1985, which gave him more time to garden, fish and collect fossils. Evelyn and Willis also enjoyed going to rummage sales and hosting their own rummage sales. Willis lived in Roundup until his wife’s death in 2006 when he moved to Mandan, North Dakota, to live with his son Steve’s family. He returned to Roundup in May 2014 where he resided at the Sunflower Gardens Assisted Living Center. He was a member of the United Methodist Church and the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Roundup. Willis will be remembered as a devoted husband and loving father by his five children: Gene (Doris) Van Dyke, Acton, Mt; Janet Laudenschlager, Rapid City, SD; Randy (Janice) Van Dyke, Manhattan, MT; Susan (Rich) Graves, Pocatello, ID; and Steve (Belinda) Van Dyke, Mandan, ND. Willis has 13 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. He is also survived by four sisters, Lilly May Randall, in Sparks, Nevada; Ruth Langsather, Salem, Oregon; Delma Franklin, Pawheska, Oklahoma and Rosalie Stillman, Glendale, Arizona. He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers: John, Edgar and Henry; two sisters, Mattie and Barbara; and one son-in-law, David Laudenschlager.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 00:55:28 +0000
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