William R. "Bill" Mefford of rural Lander died at the Lander Regional Medical Center on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010, at the age of 77.
Funeral services are at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 30, at the Assembly of God Church in Dubois. Officiating will be Pastor Mark Shaklee of the First Assembly of God Church in Riverton and Pastor Scott Englehart of the First Baptist Church of Lander.
Interment will be at the Dubois Cemetery. Military rites will be by the Dubois Veterans of Foreign Wars with the casket covered by an American flag brought from Iraq.
William Raymond Mefford was born in Fort Collins, Colo., on July 13, 1933, the son of William Paul and Edna Mae (Naylor) Mefford. He grew up in Wyoming, attending school at Lance Creek, Casper, and was graduated from high school in Powell. He attended the University of Wyoming.
Mr. Mefford served with the U.S. Army of Occupation in Germany during the Korean War. He married Karen Nelson on Dec. 28, 1959, at the Episcopal Church in Jackson.
Mr. Mefford was a real estate broker with Realty Brokers in Riverton and Dubois, retiring from All West in Lander. He has also worked as a surveyor for Nelson Engineering of Jackson, primarily in the Dubois area. In Dubois, he had also worked for Albright Sand and Gravel. In the 1960s, Mr. Mefford ranched and managed the Ziltner place near Crowheart for five years. He moved to Dubois in 1971, making that his home for 20 years. For five years, he owned the El Rancho Motel in Riverton, in conjunction with his real estate business. He moved to Fort Washakie for four years, and then to Lander in 2007.
Mr. Mefford was a member of the First Baptist Church of Lander and the First Assembly of God Church in Riverton.
He was a life-member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Dubois and a member of the Riverton Real Estate Association.
His family said he loved to fly, hunting, fishing, being outdoors, and horses. A rock hound, he collected primarily jade and petrified wood. They said he enjoyed planting many trees and spending time with his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife, Karen Mefford of Lander; sons, Donald William Mefford of Virginia City, Mont., and Daren Louis Mefford and his wife Melissa of Lewistown, Ohio; daughters, Deborah Gale LeJeune and her husband Robert of Guernsey, Diana Mae Rose and fiancé Val Green of Riverton, and Dayle Margaret Mefford and husband Jack Kincaid of Lander; 12 grandchildren, Corey, Cody and Nash Mefford, Cole, Lane, and Paige Mefford, James and Samantha LeJeune, Jessica Damveld, Elizabeth Rose, David and Aiko Miller, and one great grandchild, Kevin Prince; his mother-in-law, Fern Knutson Nelson of Jackson; a brother, John Naylor Mefford of Shell; brother-in-law, Albert L. "Boots" Nelson and his wife Beverly of Jackson; a sister-in-law, Dorothy Updike and her husband David "Bud" of Casper.
Mr. Mefford was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Roberta Clarkson; step-mother, Margaret Effie Jones Mefford, and son, Douglas Nelson Mefford.
Memorials are suggested as a tree planted in the donor's locality in Mr. Mefford's memory.
On-line obituaries are available and condolences for the family may be made at: theDavisFuneralHome.com
Arrangements are under the direction of the Davis Funeral Home of Riverton.
Funeral services are at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 30, at the Assembly of God Church in Dubois. Officiating will be Pastor Mark Shaklee of the First Assembly of God Church in Riverton and Pastor Scott Englehart of the First Baptist Church of Lander.
Interment will be at the Dubois Cemetery. Military rites will be by the Dubois Veterans of Foreign Wars with the casket covered by an American flag brought from Iraq.
William Raymond Mefford was born in Fort Collins, Colo., on July 13, 1933, the son of William Paul and Edna Mae (Naylor) Mefford. He grew up in Wyoming, attending school at Lance Creek, Casper, and was graduated from high school in Powell. He attended the University of Wyoming.
Mr. Mefford served with the U.S. Army of Occupation in Germany during the Korean War. He married Karen Nelson on Dec. 28, 1959, at the Episcopal Church in Jackson.
Mr. Mefford was a real estate broker with Realty Brokers in Riverton and Dubois, retiring from All West in Lander. He has also worked as a surveyor for Nelson Engineering of Jackson, primarily in the Dubois area. In Dubois, he had also worked for Albright Sand and Gravel. In the 1960s, Mr. Mefford ranched and managed the Ziltner place near Crowheart for five years. He moved to Dubois in 1971, making that his home for 20 years. For five years, he owned the El Rancho Motel in Riverton, in conjunction with his real estate business. He moved to Fort Washakie for four years, and then to Lander in 2007.
Mr. Mefford was a member of the First Baptist Church of Lander and the First Assembly of God Church in Riverton.
He was a life-member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Dubois and a member of the Riverton Real Estate Association.
His family said he loved to fly, hunting, fishing, being outdoors, and horses. A rock hound, he collected primarily jade and petrified wood. They said he enjoyed planting many trees and spending time with his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife, Karen Mefford of Lander; sons, Donald William Mefford of Virginia City, Mont., and Daren Louis Mefford and his wife Melissa of Lewistown, Ohio; daughters, Deborah Gale LeJeune and her husband Robert of Guernsey, Diana Mae Rose and fiancé Val Green of Riverton, and Dayle Margaret Mefford and husband Jack Kincaid of Lander; 12 grandchildren, Corey, Cody and Nash Mefford, Cole, Lane, and Paige Mefford, James and Samantha LeJeune, Jessica Damveld, Elizabeth Rose, David and Aiko Miller, and one great grandchild, Kevin Prince; his mother-in-law, Fern Knutson Nelson of Jackson; a brother, John Naylor Mefford of Shell; brother-in-law, Albert L. "Boots" Nelson and his wife Beverly of Jackson; a sister-in-law, Dorothy Updike and her husband David "Bud" of Casper.
Mr. Mefford was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Roberta Clarkson; step-mother, Margaret Effie Jones Mefford, and son, Douglas Nelson Mefford.
Memorials are suggested as a tree planted in the donor's locality in Mr. Mefford's memory.
On-line obituaries are available and condolences for the family may be made at: theDavisFuneralHome.com
Arrangements are under the direction of the Davis Funeral Home of Riverton.