William Jay Key

William Jay Key was born June 2, 1938 in Loma Linda, California, to Walter Jay Key and Anna Van Lambert Key joining his older siblings Elma Ila Key Gilmer, Ellis Deward Key, and Hoy Carroll Key and later Lura Ann. The family move to Wyoming via train was memorable for him because it was loaded with numerous WWII soldiers traveling with their duffels. Bill attended first grade in a small town near the East Porter station on the Wyoming Hereford Ranch (WHR) where the Keys lived. Wyoming winters were cold and lasted long and Bill remembered snowdrifts as high as the roof of the barn. He stayed home from school for a week and tried skiing on the flat terrain of eastern Wyoming with the only possible travel to and from East Porter being by horseback.

The Key family had several moves during Bill’s childhood, moving in 4th grade to Tempe, Arizona, and then back to Loma Linda. Bill worked from the age of 13 through his college years for his Uncle Dowell Box at his Associated “Flying A” service station and remembered fondly the skills he learned. Earning his own income, he joined a book of the month club; starting a hobby he enjoyed his entire life - reading.

In 1952 Bill enrolled as a freshman at Loma Linda Academy where he met classmate, Margaret Thomas. Their first date, at age 14, was to an autumn banquet where they double dated with his cousin Bobbie Ann and her boyfriend Joe Mays. Bill felt is was “love at first sight” for him and said there was no one else for him since that first date. He graduated from Loma Linda Academy in 1956.

Following high school graduation, Bill selected La Sierra College as his next challenge where after showing enthusiasm for several disciplines he wisely chose a major in Business Administration. Bill was known as an insatiable worker and worked tirelessly on many jobs in order to pay his way through college including: Uncle Dowell’s service station, Patton State Hospital orderly and Psychiatric Technician, and Norton Air Force base where they shipped missile parts all over the world. He graduated from La Sierra College with a BA in Business Administration in 1961. He was drafted into the US Army in 1962 where he volunteered to be a member of Project Whitecoat, designed to study the effect of fever on the human body. In the autumn of 1963, he spent three months on a project studying the effects of Q-fever. He was awarded an Army Commendation Certificate for his work and was discharged in 1964. He was award an MBA degree in 1966 from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.

His proudest family moments were his wedding to Margaret on August 9, 1959, Laura Anne’s arrival in 1963 followed by Kimberly Ellen in 1969.

Bill spent many years of his career teaching – starting at Walla Walla College in 1966 including 2 different stints teaching at La Sierra College. He taught at many other local colleges. While at LA Sierra he assisted in developing a degree program in Information Technology and developed a job placement program at La Sierra, including on-campus job interviews and a "Meet The Firms Night" where representatives from leading CPA firms and La Sierra students met and became acquainted with one another. Bill received an outstanding Professor award from his students in the School of Business in 1982, and the La Sierra Campus Professor of the Year Award from the Faculty in 1983. The body of work represented by these awards was some of the proudest of his professional career. His many years of enthusiastic and passionate mentoring to students are among the fondest memories of his teaching career and life changing for the many students he worked with.

Bill worked for Northrop-Gruman, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing over the last 20 years of his career and continued to give his unique skill set of business and informational technology to the aerospace industry, managing a statistical estimating group on the C-17 USAF Cargo contract until retirement in 2006.

During his retirement years he has been so proud of his daughters and both their personal and professional achievements. He has had many memorable experiences with his grandchildren. While living in Orange County near Laura and her husband, Kevin Conrad he was able to enjoy his grandchildren Kyle and Rachael and mentor them in his special way as well as work on specific homework projects and help Rachael write essays to get into the college of her dreams. He has enjoyed watching them grow into successful young adults and discover their unique skills and talents.

Margaret and Bill’s recent move to Corona has given them a wonderful opportunity to enjoy their daughter Kimberly, her husband Ken Minesinger, and granddaughters - Erin and Ellen. In September 2009, Margaret and Bill celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary on the Big Island of Hawaii with his family and some members of their 1959 wedding party. He has really enjoyed some recent trips with the Conrad’s to New York City, London, and to Fort McHenry where he saw the spot Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangle Banner. He and Margaret recently spent a spring vacation week with the Minesinger’s at Palm Desert and a special week in Hawaii with Kevin and Laura.

Bill touched the lives of countless students, family members and friends with his unwavering faith in God and ability to overcome the difficult obstacles that came his way in life. As one good friend, Dick Sheldon put it “a life well lived.” As he told Laura in Hawaii, he would go to sleep one day and not wake up but he knew where he was going and his “reservation was made.”