William Lee Victory

William Lee (Bill) Victory was born on December 6th, 1938, in Smyrna, Tennessee. He passed away after a long illness on March 1st 2022, in Seattle Washington at age 83. He is survived by his wife Jeanette, his daughters Ruie and Therese, son-in-law Tom Trimble, and grandsons Carter and Tyler Russell.

Bill grew up in the small town of Smyrna. Like everyone else, he did everything and anything, including chopping cotton at age 5 and milking cows on his grandparents’ farm. He was the oldest of five sons of Lee and Ruie Victory, including E.A., Kenneth (Coon), Eddie (Rat) and David (Rabbit). He graduated from Smyrna High School in 1956. He enjoyed playing football and baseball. Bill worked alongside his Dad helping with plumbing and electrical, learning anything he could about mechanics, engineering and business. He attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville until the summer of 1960 when he and a few friends decided to make a cross county road trip to Alaska to work on the railroad. Well, they ran out of money in Seattle, but as it happened he got a summer job working at Boeing on the 707s.

Bill settled full time in Seattle and attended Highline Community College, in Des Moines. He got a new job working for Standard Oil for 11 years and attended night school, intent on completing college. In 1962 during the World’s Fair while working at the Standard Oil gas station on 1st Ave South, a beautiful woman in a new Ford Falcon needed some gas. Bill could tell you every detail, including that “she had legs that could stop traffic.” Being a Southern gentleman, of course helped her, but being Bill he also got her phone number. In 1964 he married Jeanette Walker of Arroyo Grande, California.

Bill leased his first Standard Oil (Chevron) Station in 1970 located in University Village. At the same time, he transferred to the University of Washington where he took night classes when he could. Bill graduated from the University of Washington in 1973 with a B.A. in Business Administration. Bill was an avid Husky Athletics supporter, and his tailgate parties were memorable. He has Husky football tickets to this day.

In 1972 Bill was elected president of the Evergreen Service Station Association, known also as E.S.S.A, with over 1000 members at the time. He also purchased three more gas-only sites. He created Nova Oil Co., named because he was being called a “rising star.” Ultimately, he and Jeanette owned 5 stations and have a 60-year relationship with Chevron.

Shortly after Bill’s election as ESSA President, in October 1973 OPEC began their embargo of oil and everyone’s world was turned upside down. Bill’s role was to coordinate Washington state gas/fuel policy for the station owners with State and Federal authorities, a challenge especially when a “lack of transparency” kept occurring. Bill was especially piqued because he didn’t think the public should be kept in the dark about the situation and certainly the government did know more than it was sharing. No way to run a country.

But Bill was the right man in the right place. He used his innate talents of gathering details, meeting people and sussing out information to help his members, while also getting some common-sense solutions implemented for everyone. Quoting a PI article March 20, 1974: At the height of the gasoline crisis, as President of ESSA he was getting a call a minute. He threw the phone in the trash because he “had to have a little quiet.”

In 1973 Gov Dan Evans appointed Bill as a member of the State Power and Energy Policy Council. He was also a member of the Federal Energy Administration’s Gasoline Advisory Committee, a Washington State Representative to the National Congress of Petroleum Retailers and energy advisor to Senators Warren Magnuson and Henry Jackson of Washington State.

Bill was integral to the creation of laws, policy and rules regarding gasoline distribution. In response to the oil embargo, the Federal government was imposing limited hours and national limits of gasoline being distributed which could and did drive small station owners out of business, leaving towns like Enumclaw with little access to gas stations. Some ESSA dealers were so outraged that they told the Feds they would pump out their tanks as soon as possible after getting their rationed amounts to run out and stoke up public outrage.

Bill met with local Federal Energy Office officials to work on agreements on allocation and distributions of fuel. Those agreements had to be approved by D.C. so that’s where Bill went, with a well-honed “nose” for nonsense and real world skills.

His involvement in politics was only because he wanted to have some control over his own life. He said “Service station operators are individuals. They don’t like being told by the government or anyone else what to do.” Bill was able to very effectively represent the station owners and negotiated directly with the Federal regulatory agencies in a 20-hour-long marathon session. Bill’s acumen and abilities were praised by everyone – including the “other guys.”

FEO Chief William Simon (Nixon’s “energy czar”, also Secretary of Treasury) granted the dealers demands and Bill was appointed to 13-member National Retail Dealer Advisory Group. Bill described this experience by saying it “hasn’t been a joy but [he] received a great deal of satisfaction as an individual who never anticipated [his] responsibility and as someone who has been pole-vaulted into the limelight.” Translation: He took to it like a duck to water.

As President of E.S.S.A. Bill knew that rationing had to happen. He proposed a compromise: the flag system and even/odd schedule. Dealers would display a flag (Green flag – fuel available; Red flag – no fuel; Yellow flag – only “preferred” customer given gas according to each dealer’s discretion for vital services like medical providers, police, or emergency needs). Station owners would work together to stagger business hours. To prevent long lines and panic buying, on even numbered days license plates ending in even numbers could get fuel, and the reverse for odd numbered plates.

Fifty years later this seems like an obvious solution, but no one had come up with it or convinced everyone it could work – no one except Bill. He worked with the Federal and business leaders to reach compromises and built confidence that we could get through this. For his efforts Bill was named “Man of the Year” in 1974 but with his typical unflappability he didn’t talk about it much. Frankly, none of us can remember exactly who gave him that distinction, but we’re not at all surprised.

During the oil crisis of 1979 after the Iranian Revolution, Bill’s experience and knowledge was again called upon. He urged gas station dealers to start the red/green/yellow flags again and then implement the odd/even purchase system if the State required. Bill also kept his fellow dealers informed and helped avoid confusion and anger over falling supplies. Bill also testified before the Department of Energy with Senator Jackson to work to create policies that would support small stations and business owners while also help conserve gasoline as a national policy, telling them succinctly that they needed to do the right thing for the little guy, as well as consumers. The result of all his hard work was H.R. 130, a bill that helped stabilize the gasoline supply and industry during the 1979 gas crisis. Again, a great deal of praise from everyone, including President Carter.

You might wonder why someone with Bill’s skills, energy and experience didn’t go into politics? His answer to the Seattle PI when they asked was: “Power is only useful in working to solve problems.” If he did run for office, he would follow the advice of his father, Lee, who was a long-time Tennessee politician: “Politics is very cold, but I have a big coat.” But the real reason was that it was more important that he spend time with his family.

Bill and Jeanette had decided they wanted to live and raise their family in Innes Arden in the Shoreline area. They spent 5 years finding the right place, and stayed in that home since 1980. Bill loved to entertain and have friends and family at their home for school fundraisers, football games, birthdays, holidays, pickle parties, and “just because.” His laugh was unforgettable and given generously. Jeanette and the girls helped Bill to welcome everyone and guests were treated like family. Bill had the knack of finding a bond with people, and could ferret out mutual friends, experiences and interests so that when you left a Victory event, you were full, happy and probably were saying “y’all.”

Not surprisingly, the demands on Bill’s time during the 1970s was intense, but he was still an involved father. He knew how important education was and he made sure that his two girls, Ruie and Therese, had the best available by supporting school levies. He got directly involved with Shoreline schools and his personal touch got results that reaped rewards for everyone’s children. He was also involved with the parents at The Little School in Bellevue and to no one’s surprise was an enthusiastic fundraiser and vocal supporter. He and Jeanette remain friends with families that they met there.

In his early 40’s, Bill wasn’t as involved with ESSA and politics so he looked for a new challenge. He decided to learn how to snow ski, which of course required that he could and must be the best. His friend Wink Davis told him that the way to do that would be to teach others, and Bill did just that. He became so proficient that he would teach lessons for 30 years, with Fiorini at Snoqualmie Pass for 5 years, and Ski Klassics Inc., at Stevens Pass during the day for 25+ years. Bill retained his level 3 PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors Association) and could ski all terrains, including double black, and teach adults and children through the Advanced Zone. Bill took his hard-earned ski skills across the country, to Europe and even to South America. As he liked to proclaim, he was a fan of Galapagos Boobies, and had the hat to prove it.

His unending desire to have new experiences included owning a tail-dragging prop plane with “Jenelle Air Inc.” He also owned an outboard boat (21 -foot) that was moored on the south end of Lake Union, unless it was up on blocks in the yard so Bill could work on it. He said “the best day for a boat owner is the day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat.” One of his last projects was going to be restoring a 1957 Thunderbird convertible, because he wanted to ride around town with Jeanette, but his illness intervened.

One of Bill’s prized possessions was the 1967 Chevrolet panel work truck, oxidized green color, named “The Green Bean”. Like Bill it was a very unique machine. Only a limited number of other people (3) could drive the Bean because they had to pass Bill’s stringent driving test. As testament to his affection for the Bean, the steering wheel will be buried with Bill so he can drive straight to Heaven.

Bill’s love for travel was another passion. He started with tent camping and ended up with a 37’ Tradewinds RV. He travelled all over the country with his family, including supporting Therese’s riding career and her horses. Luckily, he had Jeanette in the passenger seat to be his navigator because there was no GPS and while his skills were prodigious, they didn’t include map-reading. He didn’t mind “winging it” and sometimes the accidental destinations were the best ones.

Once the girls were grown and their business was flourishing, Bill and Jeanette were able to travel extensively. Of course, they visited their family in Tennessee and California, but they ventured everywhere – there are too many to list. Suffice to say, Bill travelled to every continent including Antarctica. One of his last special trips was taking his grandsons Carter and Tyler on a Mediterranean cruise, which they will never forget.

You could usually find Bill walking the neighborhood, in his vest and work boots, waving hello to neighbors and passersby, with that huge smile. He and Jeanette wanted to retire and worked with Therese and Ruie to learn the ins and outs of the Nova Oil and real estate businesses. During the last few years Bill had some health crises, but he would rally again and again. He had to stay close to home, where Jeanette provided unflagging devotion and care.

Bill died on March 1st surrounded by his family. He was a good man who did great things because, as he said, someone’s got to do it and we’ll do it right, so “make it tight.”

Compiled by Ruie Victory with Edits by Natalie Beckmann (5th cousins and friends)

A visitation for Bill will be held Monday, March 14, 2022 at 12:00 PM at Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home, 11111 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133. A funeral service will follow the visitation and start at 1:00 PM. Interment will follow the funeral service at 2:00 PM at Evergreen Memorial Park, 11111 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133.

The service is being live-streamed. Please paste the following link into a web browser to access the livestream:

https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/authorise.php?k=1646536081170888

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Evergreen-Washelli.com for the Victory family.