Billy Joe McFarland

McFarland, Bill J. 90 May 06, 1924 Feb. 04, 2015 Billy Joe McFarland was born May 6, 1924, in Dallas, Texas, and died Feb. 4, 2015, in Portland. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Melba (Trigero) of Beaverton; daughter, Mary Kleffner of West Linn; son, Marc (Lynne) of Seattle; and grandsons, Jacob Kleffner of Lake Oswego and Adam Kleffner of Lake Oswego. Bill knew from age 5 that he wanted to be a journalist. A basketball and baseball player in high school, he also wrote for his student newspaper as well as professional newspapers in Houston. Following graduation and a brief stint with the FBI as a file clerk in Washington, D.C., where Director J. Edgar Hoover would always say, "Hello, Bill," when the two of them rode the office elevator together, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He served as an aviation weather forecaster in India during WWII and following an honorable discharge he enrolled at the University of Nevada to study journalism and work in the athletic department as a sports information director, in addition to writing for the Reno Evening Gazette and Nevada State Journal. With a bachelor's degree in hand, Bill embarked on his journalism career with even more energy. He joined United Press in Reno, Nev., and after UP absorbed International News Service to become United Press International, Bill worked for UPI as bureau manager in Phoenix, Seattle, Olympia, Helena, Mont., and Portland. Taking a brief leave from journalism during that span, he did public relations for the Seattle World's Fair, where one of his PR accomplishments was persuading Life magazine to devote two cover stories to the fair in its February 2 and May 4 issues in 1962. After the fair closed, Bill worked for The Associated Press, then rejoined UPI. One highlight of his UPI career was covering the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and their rise to the league championship in 1977. He charged himself with home coverage of the team and as a result of his writings about the Blazers from their inception to the championship and beyond, Blazers co-founder and charter team President Harry Glickman enjoyed crediting him for contributing greatly to the franchise's popularity in "Rip City" and rise to success. Bill later went to work for The Oregonian as Northwest editor and a suburban editor before retiring from journalism. His interest in current and world events didn't end there, and he and Melba became founders then active members of Portland Community College's Senior Studies Institute, for which Bill also served a stint as president. SSI gave him an opportunity to expand his interests even further and he discovered a fondness for creative writing as well as poetry, and spoke frequently of the many interesting people from all walks of life he got to meet through SSI. Those who met Bill always were exposed immediately to his unending optimism and enthusiasm. As a youth growing up during the Depression in the 1930s, his mother could not afford to buy him shoes. Getting on a Houston city bus barefoot one day, the driver asked, "Don't you have shoes, boy?" To which Bill quickly responded, "It's OK, mister! I don't need shoes." That energy and optimism propelled Bill throughout his life and during his 90 years. He grew from a barefoot boy in Houston to a man who enjoyed the company of world leaders, celebrities and sports heroes and walked on six continents during his lifetime. Bill enjoyed traveling but even more, he loved talking about his grandsons and their accomplishments big and small as they grew up. A broken leg prevented Bill from playing football in his high school days, so he especially enjoyed watching them play football at Jesuit High School and later at Linfield College and Portland State University, respectively. His family misses him enormously at this time and always will, but carries with them the optimism and enthusiasm he demonstrated through all times, good and bad, and will continue to sustain them in the years ahead. Thank you, Billy Joe! For everything. -