Bill Sperry passed away on June 4, 2019 in Colorado Springs, Co. while attending his OCS (Officer Candidate School) Reunion. Although his passing was sudden, he was among his brothers-in-arms and next to his wife of 40 years. William Ellehue Sperry, son of William E. Sperry and Mary L. Still, was born June, 30 1941, in Newport, Wa. He grew up in the neighboring small towns of Usk and Cusick. Shortly after high school graduation, he joined the military. Through the GI Bill, he attended the University of Puget Sound where he received his BA and his Masters in Business.
Bill served in the Army for 20 years. During this time, he spent 4 years in Germany being trained for Special Forces. In his last year, he became a trainer for Special Forces. After Germany, Bill went to Vietnam, where he did two tours. He was an advisor to the ARVN Battalion on his second tour. After Vietnam, Bill went to Korea where he was in charge of surveillance of the DMZ. Upon returning from Korea, he served as a military judge at Fort Lewis. At the end of his military career, he was in charge of training The National Guard in Oregon and Washington. After his service in the Army, he went on to start numerous businesses. Among those were the Port Townsend Antique Mall, where he imported antiques from Korea, China and Europe, Northwest Office Furniture, Huckleberry Lodge, Cedar Avenue Storage, and 110 Business Park. He truly enjoyed building businesses from the ground up. He was never afraid of hard work. Bill also was a horologist. He got the privilege of working on the clock tower in Tacoma and the clock tower at the Courthouse in Port Townsend.
Bill was actively involved in the community. He was a firm believer in giving back. He was a member of the American Legion and he served in the communities of Port Townsend and Forks with the Chamber Board and EDC (Economic Development Council). Another example of his love for community was the construction of two monuments. The first one was Fort Nuñez Gaona in Neah Bay; completed through coordination of the Makah Nation, Spain, and Washington State. The second monument was the Sv Nikolai; built with the help of the Association of the Washington Generals, the State of Washington, and Stan and Linda Peterson.
Bill loved to hunt, fish, travel and go on road trips. He had a tremendous love and respect for the outdoors and the beauty of nature. Bill’s last overseas trip was in February. He went to Lapland in Sweden. Although it was cold, he had a wonderful time. His last road trip was to Iowa in June, where he got to drive a large computerized tractor which was very much different from the tractors he grew up with as a young boy.
Bill is survived by his wife, Kitty, and his children, Eric Sperry and Stephanie Sperry-Moore, two step-children, Mark and Paul Austin, grand-children, Edward Sperry, Maddison, Meg and Nate Moore, Hayes and August Austin and Lillian and Grant Austin, and his sister Audrey Young.
Bill was known for his warm smile, his love of laughter, his endless amount of energy and unbridled generosity. He will be sorely missed.
Bill’s Celebration Of Life will be held July 27th at 1 p.m. at the Round House located in the Katila Center, 100 La Push Road, Forks, WA 98331
