Willean Rose Denton

Willean Rose Denton (July 12, 1937-April 28, 2026) was born in Missouri to Willard and Beulah Denton, the fourth of five children. She spent her early years with her parents, sister, and three brothers on their farm in Thayer. She loved writing stories about their adventures growing up on the farm. She recalled how her sister was a fearless horse woman who inspired her to overcome her own fear of horses, and how her eldest brother, Willard (then 16), had aided the war effort by working nights as a telegraph operator while attending school during the day.

After their father’s death when she was 16, the family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to be close to their aunts. Willean graduated from high school there. She worked briefly in a secretarial pool in Alaska and California, then returned to Oklahoma, where she attended the University of Tulsa. There, she received her bachelor’s degree, majoring in journalism.

Willean began her career in Seattle at Bell Telephone, during a time when it was uncommon for women to work outside the home. To highlight the challenges faced by women during the time, she told the story of how, one day, she wore a stylish navy-blue suit and matching nylons to work, only to be confronted by her male boss. She was ordered to immediately go home and change. The blue nylons were considered too risqué for a woman in a man’s world.

Following her time in Seattle, Willean accepted a position with the Alaska State Operated Schools, working in personnel in Juneau and Anchorage for eight years, then returned to Seattle to work in the University of Washington’s personnel department. After receiving her Masters Degree in Labor Relations at the University of Washington, Willean was promoted to Labor Relations Officer. She was the first woman to serve in that position.

In labor negotiations, Willean’s goal was always to find a win/win. When she retired from the university, she was honored not only by the university’s administration, but by the union representatives she had spent years working with to find fair solutions to labor disputes.

Following her retirement from the University of Washington, Willean accepted a position as the Seattle Public Library System’s Personnel Director. After she retired from the library, Willean went back to Alaska’s state schools’ human resources department. When Willean finally retired from full time employment, she continued to do consulting work for the Governor of Washington.

Aside from her groundbreaking career, Willean volunteered her time with the First Presbyterian Church of Port Townsend and her local library. She was a dedicated Democrat and an activist, protesting for peace and human rights. When the news broke that immigrant children were being separated from their parents and kept in cages, she marched to oppose that cruel policy. Willean served as a Stephen’s Ministry Chaplain at Jefferson County Hospital and trained others to pursue that calling.

As a young woman, Willean married Michael Reid and they had two daughters, Carmel and Seanda Lee. After they divorced in 1972, Willean moved to Seattle where she worked full time and began her graduate studies as a single mother. She later met and married LeRoy Granger Hornbeck. Together, Willean and LeRoy lived a rich and fulfilling life for over forty years. They built beautiful homes, made many life-long friends, and traveled the world together.

When LeRoy passed away in 2021, Willean moved to Fort Collins, CO, to be closer to her daughter and son-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She lived at The Winslow, an independent living facility for four years, where she made wonderful friends and spent time writing poetry and short stories. She performed public readings with the Winslow Writers four times per year. She loved welcoming guests to her beautiful apartment there, and spending time in the Rocky Mountains with her family, looking for wildlife, reading, crafting, visiting, and playing with her great-grandchildren. In her final months, Willean lived at The Aspens of Fort Collins, a memory care facility where she enjoyed helping the staff, community activities, and visiting with her family and friends.

Willean Rose Denton Hornbeck was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her siblings, Willard, Neil, and Charles Denton, and Juanita Williams. She is survived by her brother-in-law, Donald Williams, her two daughters and three step-children, David Hornbeck, Karen Bertram, and Diane (Ronald) Little; three grandchildren, and five step-grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, three step-great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and their children. She adored them all. Her sweet lab mix, Missy, and adopted pup, Maxwell, remain with her daughter, Carmel, and son-in-law in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

A Memorial Service will be held at The Presbyterian Church of Port Townsend (https://fpcpt.org/) on Saturday, August 15th, at 11 am. A virtual option will be included for those who are unable to travel. There will be a reception at the church following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (https://curealz.org/), where 100% of donations go directly to research.