Billy D. Shaneyfelt

Billy Davis Shaneyfelt, age 83, passed into Eternal Life on May 13, 2015, with his wife of 56 years, Myrna, and other family at his side.

Bill lived in Grants Pass for more than 40 years, having been born on September 22, 1931, to Earl and Helen Delbridge Shaneyfelt in a small cotton field community known as 'Half Moon,' about 20 miles west of Blytheville, Arkansas.

As a small boy, he bounced between homes in Half Moon, Taft and Bakersfield, Calif., eventually raised by his grandparents in Half Moon and then graduating from Dell High School there in 1949.

Bill enlisted in the Air Force in 1950 and was stationed initially in Washington state, and then, for three years, in Guam, serving as a military police officer. He returned to Arkansas and spent two years at Arkansas State until his money ran out.

An uncle in Los Angeles got him a job at the fast-growing Douglas Aircraft Company, where he met another young company employee, Myrna Albany, whom he would eventually marry, in 1958. That job led to another at Librascope Company in Glendale, Calif., where he served as a purchasing manager. Desperate to leave the LA 'rat race' he applied for a job at Oregon Technical Products in Grants Pass and got it. In 1970, he moved his family to Grants Pass, settling in the Colonial Valley, where he enjoyed following the school activities of his three boys, David, Daniel, and Samuel, from Manzanita to Fleming and to Grants Pass and North Valley High Schools.

When OTP downsized, he took over Franklin's Moving & Storage and saw its integration into United Van Lines. In the 1980s and thereafter, he opened a motor home sales lot, ran a bathtub refinishing company, and eventually settled in selling real estate, until his health declined in 2011.

He was active in many community interests over the years, including the Knights of Columbus at St. Anne's Parish, Rotary Club, Booster Clubs, Boy Scouts, Swim Team, and he was a regular at the Powderhorn Caf gibing, and being gibed, at morning breakfast.

Bill's love was his family, all of whom survive him, including 17 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. His good charm, dry humor, and conservative political views gave him many good friends through life. And his strong faith in God was his rock through tough times.

A Rosary will be held at 1:30 p.m. with a Funeral Mass at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 22nd., at St. Anne's Parish, 1131 NE 10th St., Grants Pass.

Interment will be at Noon on Tuesday, May 26th, at Holy Cross Cemetery, 5835 W. Slauson Ave., Culver City, CA 90230