David Burpee Williamson's Obituary
David Burpee Williamson
David Burpee Williamson was born on March 6, 1925 in Edmunton, Alberta, Canada to Robert Blackwood Williamson and Ida Elizabeth Burpee Williamson. The family moved to Saint Helens, Oregon three months later when David?s father took a position as general manager of the Pope & Talbot creosote plant. Another son, Robert S. Williamson and a daughter, Margaret E. Williamson, joined the family. They lived in the plant manager?s house and attended school in Saint Helens, David and his brother and sister grew up fishing and hunting with their father. In high school, David lettered in football and track. He also played the drums in the band. He dated one of the cheerleaders, Georgine Marie Deahn. He graduated in 1944 and was then drafted into the Army after Pearl Harbor. After training, he was sent to England where he was assigned to the 63rd Armored Infantry Battalion of the 11th Armored Division in General George Patton?s Third Army. His unit entered Europe in the winter of 1943, in time to fight in the Battle of the Bulge and help relieve the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne. They crossed the Siegfried line three times, and fought their way across Germany, finally meeting up with the Russians at Unz, Austria. Along the way, they liberated a concentration camp at Mauthausen and freed the survivors. David was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star, the latter for his attempt to save a fellow soldier who was caught in barbed wire exposed to enemy machine gun fire. After his discharge and return home, David married his high school sweetheart, Georgine, and the moved to Eugene where David attended the University of Oregon where he was a high jumper on the track team. The first child of that union, David Brian Williamson was born in 1947 in Eugene. David graduated in June 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree. A few weeks later, Peter Kim Williamson was born. The Korean War started and David was called up for duty again, this time as an officer. He was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia and at Camp Roberts, California. He returned to Oregon where he began law school at the University of Oregon, then transferred to the Northwestern School of Law, now known as Lewis and Clark College. He worked days pulling lumber on the green chain at Pope & Talbot sawmill in Saint Helens, to support his family while attending law school at night. He graduated from law school in 1954 and began practicing law in Saint Helens. A third child, Gina Marie Williamson, joined the family in 1956. Following the Korean War, David had remained in the Army Reserve, in the Judge Advocate General Corps, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retirement. Along the way, he was sent to and graduated from the Command and General Staff School. In 1960, David was elected district attorney, an office he held for four years, until a Democrat in the next election defeated him. During his career as district attorney, he successfully prosecuted several murder cases, and convicted the county clerk of ballot tampering in the election for sheriff, an office held by her husband. He was commissioned by the Oregon Supreme Court to go to Clatsop County, to convene a grand jury and conduct and investigation of what the Supreme Court believed to be a complete breakdown of the justice system of Clatsop County. Returning to private practice, David practiced law with several partners and associates over the years. His oldest son, David Brian, joined him in the practice in 1976 and they continued together until David?s retirement in 2005. Among his many accomplishments are an ?AV? rating from Martindale-Hubble, the highest rating for attorneys, and a fifty-year certificate from the Oregon State Bar. He was a very active member of the Plymouth Presbyterian Church. David was active in numerous civic clubs and organizations. He was a member of the Jaycee, the Kiwanis, the Salvation Army, the Masonic Lodge, and the Elks. The Kiwanis awarded him the Legion of Honor for his many decades of service in their organization, and for many years, he was the head of the Columbia County Salvation Army. David?s interest and passions included his family, travel, fishing, duck hunting, jogging, growing tomatoes, and the University of Oregon football and basketball teams. He was an expert duck caller and excellent shot. He loved fishing for salmon on the ocean, Columbia River, and Multnomah Channel; winter steel-head fishing on the Toutle River before Mount Saint Helens erupted; and fly fishing for the summer steel-head and trout on the Deschutes River. Most of all, he loved his family. Parkinson? Disease overcame him on October 5, 2007. He is survived by his loving wife of sixty-one years, Georgine; his children, David Brian, Peter, and Gina; his grandchildren, Heather West, Hillary Saunders, Aaron Williamson, Katey Williamson, Sarah Harringtion, and Elizabeth Harrington; and five great-grandchildren, Carter West, Dillon West, Ethan West, Tana Saunders, and Brook Williamson. His brother Robert Williamson and his sister Margaret Byrne also survive him. There will be a Celebration of Life at the Plymouth Presbyterian Church on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 11:00 am with a reception following at Josephine?s at Scappoose Creek Inn, formerly known as the Barnstormer.
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