WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
WILLIAM OLIVER WILBUR, JR. (aka BILL WILBUR)
(mechanic, softball promoter)
BIOGRAPHY
William Oliver Wilbur Jr., better know as Bill Wilbur, was born September 15, 1932 in Williams, California.Bill married Delores "Dee" Banks on January 1, 1978 in Ely, Nevada, in the police station.
After moving to St. George, Bill started out working at Pearson Tire on Bluff Street in 1978 and worked there until 1988. He was know for being an excellent and extremely honest mechanic.
He also had a lot to do with bringing softball into popularity in St. George. He played every year for at least the first 20 years in the Huntsman Senior Games in softball, as well as many City League teams as player and coach. He played City League softball for the old Best Western Thunderbird Motel team and then Senior League for a team sponsored by Denny’s. He coached a local City League team called the Dixie Diamondbacks, made up primarily of former Dixie High and Enterprise High baseball players. We won quite a few regular season and tournament titles. He traveled to tournaments in Las Vegas, Enterprise, the Utah Summer Games in Cedar City (winning bronze and silver medals), Panguitch, Richfield, Delta, and American Fork.
In 1988, Bill bought and reopened Santa Clara Automotive in Santa Clara, bringing along most of his loyal clientele from his Pearson Tire days.
Bill sold Santa Clara Automotive sometime around 2000 and moved to Central, Utah where he continued to work on cars out of an old barn on his property that he had converted into a shop, complete with an electric hoist, tire machine, pipe bender, etc.
Bill Wilbur passed away on July 31, 2013 in Central. At the time of his death, he had 12 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Funeral Services were held on August 3, 2013 in the Santa Clara Heights LDS Stake Center and he was buried in the Enterprise City Cemetery.
FAMILY
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Bill's Parents (no siblings):
William Oliver Wilbur Sr. Linnie Elizabeth Bruner Wilbur |
(5/28/1901-4/29/1972) (married xx/xx/1929) (3/xx/1899-5/24/1966) |
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Dee's Parents and Siblings: Richard "Dick" Burton Banks LaPrele Tait Banks Xxxxxxx X. Banks Xxxxxxx X. Banks Delores "Dee" Banks Xxxxxxx X. Banks |
(6/19/1917-1/3/2001) (married 9/11/1940) (1/5/1923-8/3/2010) |
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Bill & Dee's Family: William "Bill" Oliver Wilbur Jr. Delores "Dee" Banks Wilbur Xxxxxxx X. Wilbur Xxxxxxx X. Wilbur Xxxxxxx X. Wilbur Xxxxxxx X. Wilbur Xxxxxxx X. Wilbur Xxxxxxx X. Wilbur Xxxxxxx X. Wilbur Xxxxxxx X. Wilbur Cade Wilbur |
(9/15/1932-7/31/2013) (married 1/1/1978) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) |
PHOTOS
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WCHS-02649 Bill Wilbur |
 WCHS-02652 The Softball Player |
Other WCHS photos:
WCHS-02653 Photo of Bill Wilbur at a ballpark
WCHS-02654 Photo of Bill Wilbur talking to someone at a ballpark
WCHS-02655 Photo of Bill Wilbur talking to someone at a ballpark
WCHS-02656 Photo of Cade Wilbur and Bill Wilbur with a 2000 MSA Super Bowl Trophy
WCHS-02657 Photo of the Dixie Diamondbacks softball team
WCHS-02658 Photo of the Dixie Diamondbacks softball team
WCHS-02659 Photo of the Dixie Diamondbacks softball team
WCHS-02660 Photo of the Four Horsemen softball team
WCHS-02661 Photo of the KONY softball team
WCHS-02662 Photo of the Denny's Grand Slam softball team
WCHS-02663 Photo of the Santa Clara 2nd Ward softball team
WCHS-02664 Photo of the Santa Clara 2nd Ward softball team getting some instructions
WCHS-02665 Photo of the Santa Clara 2nd Ward softball team waiting to play
WCHS-02666 Photo of the Santa Clara 2nd Ward softball team waiting to play
WCHS-02667 Photo of the Santa Clara 2nd Ward softball team waiting to play
REFERENCES
Find-A-Grave entry for William Oliver "Bill" Wilbur, JrWilliam (Bill) Oliver Wilbur Jr obituary in The Spectrum
William (Bill) Oliver Wilbur Jr obituary in the Deseret News
William (Bill) Oliver Wilbur Jr obituary in the St George News
Find-A-Grave entry for LaPrele Tait Banks