William Willis Goodridge
William Willis Goodridge died on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, of causes due to Alzheimer’s. Bill was born at home on the farm in Provo, Utah, on May 5, 1932, the son of Lynn Willis Goodridge and Ada Elizabeth Hamilton Goodridge.
He graduated from Lincoln High School and started attending Brigham Young University, studying geology. In 1952, the Korean war was going on, and he decided to enlist in the US Navy before he was drafted into the army. He served on the USS Bexar and was honorably discharged from the Navy in August 1954.
William Willis Goodridge
Bill returned to BYU and there he met a beautiful young woman in his physics class, Keturah Josephine Rush, from Lima, MT. Bill and Jo were married on June 4,1957, in the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Shortly after their marriage, they moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where Sidona, Tim, Chris and David were born.
The family moved to Billings, MT, in July 1982, where they have resided ever since. He loved living in MT with its wide-open skies and access to all kinds of outdoor activity.
Dad started his involvement in Boy Scouts when he was still in high school, working with younger scouts and thus began his lifelong service to young men until Alzheimer’s limited his abilities to work with them. He and Jo served as workers in the Billings Temple from October 1999, when it opened, until their health no longer allowed them to do so.
Bill is survived by his loving wife, Jo, children, Sidona Wagstaff (Brad), Tim Goodridge (Pam), Chris Goodridge, David Goodridge (Rachel) and Jennifer Lawrence, along with grandchildren, Matt and Paul (Michaela) Wagstaff, Henry, Will, and Jane Goodridge, Madison, Jordan and Luke Goodridge, and David and Grace Erekson and his younger brother, John Goodridge (Glenda).
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 4 at 11:00 AM, with visitation from 9:30 – 10:30, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1640 Broadmoor Drive, Billings, 59105. In honor of Dad’s service with BSA, if you have been affiliated with Scouts, please feel free to wear scout shirts or neckerchiefs. (A longer obituary is available online from Smith Downtown Funeral Chapel).
