Wayne "Gail" Williams

Wayne "Gail" Williams, 75, of Union died March 13 with his family at his side. Viewing will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 17th at Loveland Funeral Chapel, 1508 4th St. A graveside service will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 18 at the Island City Cemetery.

Gail was born February 5, 1931 on the Promise Homestead near Wallowa to Thomas and Izora (Zumwalt) Williams. He was the second youngest of ten children. At age 20, he joined the army and was sent to Germany. There he met and married Leopoldine "Poldi" Rudolfer in Stuttgart, Germany on November 16, 1954. In 1955, they returned to the states and he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington.

There they had their first son. Upon leaving the army, he returned to Wallowa and began working in the log trucking business. During that time he had a daughter and another son. In 1968, he and his family moved to Union where he lived until his death. Gail bought his own logging truck in 1969 and built a successful family business known as Gail Williams Trucking. He loved working out in the woods and had many great lifelong friends through his work. Upon retiring in 1987, his sons took over his business, now known as Williams Brothers Trucking. During his retirement, he continued to stay involved in the business and he also ventured into ranching, purchasing cows, horses and mules. He loved being outside, and working in his shop and out on his ranch.

Gail loved hunting, fishing and spending time with his family. He also loved traveling with family and friends and especially enjoyed spending time on the Oregon Coast. He organized serveral major trips around the country with his wife and sister-in-law and brother-in-law Traudl and Franz Hofbauer of Germany. Each year, his family celebrated his birthday with a Crab Feed in his honor. He was always supportive of his grandkids, sponsoring sports teams and purchasing 4-H and FFA animals. His grandkids knew that Grandad would always he there for them. Those who knew him well were well aware of his quick wit and how much he liked to tease and joke! He loved to give nicknames to those he cared about and he could always be counted on to help those in need. Some of his favorite times were spent with family and friends hunting and fishing in the mountains around Eastern Oregon and elk hunting in Idaho. He especially cherished memories of time spent in the Minam.

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, his son and daughter-in-law Randy and Tommie Williams and son Greg Williams all of Union; daughter and son-in-law Debbie and Rick Ewing, of La Grande; grandchildren Mindi Mitchell-Goin and Matt Goin, of Salem; and Randa, Brittany and Cody Williams, and Shane and Shelbi Williams, all of Union. He is also survived by a brother, Merle, of Hermiston and numerous other relatives and friends. Two sisters, Nelly and Jessie, and six of his brothers, Earl, Leonard, Lyle, Chet, Halley and Fred all died earlier.

He will be dearly missed by his family