Wildes Walker Veazie

October 27, 1926 - May 12, 2012

Wildes “Bill” Veazie died May 12, 2012, in Corvallis. He was 85. He was born Oct. 27, 1926, to Charlotte and Wildes Walker Veazie of White Plains, N.Y. Following high school graduation in 1944, he served in World War II. He went into the Army Specialized Training Program at St. Bonaventure College in Olean, N.Y., and then was sent to the European Theater, where he served in Germany. After returning from service, he went to Montana State College and the New York University Graduate School of Business. In 1950, he married Helene Hurley in White Plains. They moved to Westport, Conn., where they raised their three children. Bill became a vice president of Crocker National Bank, and opened a New York investment office on Wall Street for Crocker. Bill was always active in civic affairs. He was elected in Westport to the Representative Town Meeting in 1965, served on the Board of Finance and the Planning and Zoning Commission, and was elected Second Selectman (assistant mayor), serving from 1967 to 1969. In 1970, Bill was transferred to Los Angeles to become investment division manager of Crocker Bank’s Southwest region, and lived in La Cañada/Flintridge and Lake San Marcos, Calif. In 1981, Bill took early retirement, and he and Helene moved to Palm Desert, Calif., where he did consulting work for Palm Springs National Bank and E.F. Hutton. Again active in local affairs, Bill served on the boards of the Palm Desert Country Club Association and the Palm Desert Country Club Men’s Golf Association, and won the Senior Inspiration Award for the City of Palm Desert for his volunteer work on the investment committee for the town. Bill was also known in his retirement years for playing music professionally as a trombone player and vocalist in Dixieland bands, big bands, and the Coachella Valley Symphony. Survivors include his wife, Helene of Corvallis; daughter, Beth Lambright of Corvallis; sons Bill Veazie Jr. of Parker, Colo., and Bob Veazie of Corvallis; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A private graveside service will be held at Desert Memorial Park in the Palm Springs Cemetery District in California.