William "Bill" L. Birk

Lt. Col. USAF (ret.)

Bill lost his long and valiant 11-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease on June 1, 2016. He was born on January 25, 1933 to Vernon and Florence (Haack) Birk in Woodstock, IL. He spent most of his youth in Woodstock, moving to a nearby town during his high school years and graduating from Dundee High School in Illinois. He then attended the University of Illinois in Urbana and graduated from a two-year program at the school’s Institute of Aviation. While a sophomore at the U of I, he met his wife, Eunice Ewert, who was a senior in high school. He soon went into the Air Force cadet program, and upon completion of that program was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. He and Eunice were married soon thereafter on April 2, 1955.

Bill flew fighter aircraft for the first few years in the Air Force and then in 1958 was assigned to Fairchild AFB as a tanker (KC-135) pilot. His career continued with this aircraft until 1968 when he received orders to train in the F-105 fighter aircraft to be followed by a tour in Vietnam. He loved being back in fighters again and excelled in this training program, being awarded the “Top Gun” award and also the outstanding graduate of his class award. When orders came for assignment to Vietnam, Bill was sent over as an advisor to the South Vietnam Air Force and flew as a member of their Air Force. He was awarded the Vietnamese Medal of Honor as a result of this service.

Bill retired from the Air Force in December of 1973 and, never one to remain idle, began working for Expo ’74 in Spokane in January. He also worked for Expo ’82 in Knoxville, TN and Expo ’84 in New Orleans. After Expo ’74 in Spokane, Bill attended Washington State University obtaining a bachelor’s degree in forestry which led to several years as an adjunct teacher at Spokane Community College.

Always ready for a new adventure, Bill designed and built an earth sheltered home where he and Eunice have continued to live for the past 29 years. With 15 acres of land to “play with” Bill decided it would be fun to invest in llamas. Of course, the llamas had to be useful so he decided they should be used for packing and for five years he and Eunice were the North Idaho Llama Outfitters (couldn’t get a permit in Washington so did commercial packing in Idaho).

Bill was preceded in death by his father, Vernon Birk; his mother, Florence Lambert; and his daughter, Kathy Birk. He is survived by his dad’s beloved wife, Marjorie Birk; his wife, Eunice; his son, Gary (Terri); his daughters Terri (Dale) Williams and Karen (Steve) Brown; six grandchildren: Aerik, Jacob and Kyle Williams, Isaac and Abby Brown, and Jessica (John) Abraham; and five great grandchildren: Lyric, Coda, and Brodie Williams and Hunter and Kenzie Abraham.

Bill’s family would like to extend a special thank you to all the caregivers at Brookdale North and Horizon Hospice for their excellent and loving care.

A memorial service will be held June 9, 2016, 11:00 AM at Whitworth Community Presbyterian Church, 312 W Hawthorne Rd, Spokane, WA, followed by a light lunch reception. Donations may be made to Horizon Hospice or the Alzheimer’s Association.

Arrangements under the direction of Hazen & Jaeger Funeral Home, Spokane, WA.