William "Bill" Childers

William LeRoy Childers was born in Inglewood, California October 19th, 1941 to Harold William Childers and Lily Esther Childers (Unruh). Billy, as his mother called him, was the first of 3 children. His brother, Tom arrived soon after, then baby sister Bonnie a few years later. He was surrounded by family in those early years: aunts, uncles and countless cousins. By the time Bill was in grade school, the family had relocated to Santa Cruz, California. He spent much of the 1950s fishing, swimming, and playing baseball in this idyllic beach town.

The family moved again, finally landing in Salem, Oregon. This is where Bill attended high school at Salem Academy excelling in sports (quarterbacking for the football team), meeting girls and troublemaking.

In 1959, at the age of 17, Bill graduated and immediately joined the US Navy. In basic training he learned Morse Code and was assigned to the Mount Katmai, an ammunition ship, as a radioman. Bill flourished as a sailor. The combination of excitement and discipline was a perfect fit. He remembered once riding out a typhoon strapped to his seat in the radio shack. In October of 1962, President Kennedy declared a state of emergency due to the Cuban Missile Crisis and Bill was held over. The Katmai began steaming to Cuba. Fortunately the crisis passed and he was honorably discharged and went home to parents house. They had moved yet again, this time to The Dalles, Oregon.

While settling back into life after military service, a pretty ticket taker at The Dalles Drive-In caught his eye. Her name was Kendall Yeagle. They fell in love. In 1964 they married and welcomed a baby girl, Dawn Elaine. It was time to get serious about finding a career. He chose police work and was hired on as a patrolman with The Dalles Police Department in 1966. A second baby, Kathryn June, arrived in 1967. He was devoted to these girls. With a growing family, Bill began looking for a better paying assignment. The Eugene Police Department was hiring. He began work for EPD in 1969.

Not long after, Bill and Kendall’s marriage ended in divorce. Kendall and the girls relocated to Seattle. So he threw his boundless energy into police work and especially enjoyed being out on street patrol. Bill spent a number of years as a motorcycle officer, later training the motorcycle team. One of his favorite stories was a police chase. He was chasing a stolen car in the county when his police bike ran low on gas. He had to take the time to find a gas station and gas up before he could continue the chase. He still managed to catch the guy.

And motorcycling was a lifelong passion. He started riding as a kid

He bought his BMW R/900 brand-new off the showroom floor in 1974. He rode it well over 100,000 miles and up to the age of 80. That bike is the one sitting outside the door today.

While working long hours (often graveyard) at the PD, he decided to go back to school. In 1977 he graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Not long after he was promoted to sergeant, eventually becoming senior sergeant. In his last few years of work, he ran the Auto Theft and Property Crimes Unit. He was disappointed he had to work in an office and wear neckties but loved the people in his unit and his time at “The Swamp”.

Towards the end of his police career, he met a cute young bartender named Monica Guza. They married in 1994. Two years later, with 30 years of police work under his belt, he retired from the PD. He was so proud of his time as a police officer and it defined his life.

He and Monica moved to their country home near Fern Ridge Lake. Now retired, Bill had to learn a whole new way to live. He got involved:

Lane County was going to close a nearby park due to lack of funding. He and other neighbors made a deal with the county to keep the park open. They founded Friends of Zumwalt Park in 2007, an organization that still exists today, and worked tirelessly to keep the lake side park maintained. Mowing and working outside became his form of meditation and therapy.

He renewed family relationships, spending time with his 2 daughters, 4 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. He used his excellent communication skills to start the Lane County Law Enforcement Retirees Group. His aim: to keep these folks connected. And he did. People came to rely on him and his emails. He even threw an annual retirees dinner that was very successful.

Health problems began to slow him down as he entered his 80’s but his zest for life never waned. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in May of 2024. He finally ‘moved on’ April 1st, 2025 at 1:35pm. Always a jokester, I know he appreciated the fact he died on April Fool’s Day.