Billie Elkin Worthen

Billie Elkin Worthen

November 16, 1926 – May 9, 2018

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Billie E. Worthen, 91, of Coos Bay, will be held on Friday, May 18th at 11:00 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Coos Bay, 1140 S. 10th Street, with Pastor Roland Shanks presiding. A private urnside service will be held at Ocean View Memory Gardens Cemetery in Coos Bay.

Bill was born on November 16, 1926 in Prattsville, Arkansas to Travis Jerrell Worthen and Beron Emilian ( Mitchell ) Worthen. He passed away peacefully on May 9, 2018 in Coos Bay.

Bill was the eldest of five children. He came from a poor, hardworking, logging and cotton farming family, that was always abundant in love with a deep faith in God.

Bill served his country in the US Army, stateside, in Texas from 1945-1947. He was outstanding at driving tanks and spent his enlistment teaching others to drive them. Not long following his discharge from the Army, he and his best buddy piled into an old Chevy, drove all day and night until they reached Oregon, and began looking for work. Eventually the whole Worthen family followed, settling in Oregon and California. Bill arrived in Coos Bay in 1948, where he met and married Patricia Williams. Their family grew to four boys and a girl. He joined the First Baptist Church in Coos Bay and was an active member for 70 years, holding many leadership positions. He was instrumental in achieving a congregational goal of constructing a new church home, which was built in it’s current location. He married Shirley Smith in 1966, partnering for almost 50 years before her death in 2016. He was a charter member of the Coos County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse and was state captain in 1983.

Bill will be remembered for his easy smile, mischievous sense of humor and skill as a horseman. He is already missed and will live on in his family and friends.

Bill is survived by his son, B. Travis Worthen of Winston; daughter, Patti Worthen and her husband Keith Kroeker of Coos Bay; son, Dennis Worthen and his wife Marguerite of Portland; brother, Landis Worthen of Coos Bay; daughter-in-law Francine Worthen of Coos Bay; nine grandchildren; eighteen great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Travis and Beron Worthen; wife, Shirley; brother, Robbie; sisters, Joyce and Jane; Sons, Mike and Jerry; and two best friends, O.J. Freeman and Henry Harrington.

Friends and family are encouraged to sign the online guestbook at www.coosbayareafunerals.com and www.theworldlink.com. Memorial contributions may be made in Billie’s honor to the First Baptist Church Building Fund, 1140 South 10th Street, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420 or to the Oregon Horse Rescue, 4771 Pacific Avenue, Suite A, Eugene, OR 97402. Arrangements are under the care of North Bend Chapel, 541-756-0440.

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