Captain William John Yarber USNR (Ret) went to be with his Lord and Savior on July 11, 2017. He was born December 18, 1934 in Nampa, Idaho.
William received a BS degree in Agriculture Economics from the University of Idaho. He received his commission as an Ensign and was designated as a Naval Aviator in March, 1959. He was assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron One (HS-1) in Key West, Florida. The Squadron’s mission was to detect and track Russian Submarines. This was the period of the “Cold War” when the Russian Submarine menace was prevalent. He made two deployments with HS-1 aboard the USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39). In July,1960, William transferred to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Nine (HS-9) in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The Squadron made deployments to Karachi, Pakistan, and several of the countries bordering the Mediterranean including a deployment to the North Atlantic and European nations. He was extended on active duty for a year due to the “Berlin Crisis”.
Upon release from active duty, he joined a Naval Reserve Squadron (HS-892) in Seattle, Washington. He remained in the Naval Reserve until he retired in 1989 at Point Mugu, California, with 30 years of commissioned service as a Captain (O-6). During his Navy career, he was the pilot involved in three life saving rescue missions. The first rescue occurred in the North Sea near Ireland. The second rescue was on Mt. Si near Seattle, Washington. The final rescue was in the Gulf of Mexico where he performed a night time rescue of four downed Aviators. He was awarded the Air Medal for this rescue. William was the Executive Officer and later the Commanding Officer of COMNAVAIRPAC 376, Executive Officer of CINCPACFLT 719, Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of VTU 7676. He is the recipient of the Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal and the Navy Expert Pistol Medal.
William worked as a commercial helicopter pilot in Boise, Idaho, flying on numerous wildfires in Idaho and Nevada. During this time, he also contracted for sagebrush spraying, snow survey and the construction of an electrical transmission line from Hells Canyon Dam to Enterprise, Oregon.
William was employed by Bell Helicopter Textron as a production test pilot in March,1968. In 1969, he transferred to the Bell Marketing Department as Regional Marketing Manager and moved to Vancouver, Washington. His territory included the four Northwest States where he flew and demonstrated various Bell helicopters. In 1974, he was promoted to Division Marketing Manager located in Van Nuys, California where he was responsible for helicopter sales for eleven Western States. William retired from Bell Helicopter Textron after 32 years of employment in December, 2000.
William was a member of Stonebriar Community Church, Naval Helicopter Association, TailHook Association, The Naval Institute, Twirly Birds and other social organizations.
William was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Bettie Crockett Yarber, his parents, Grant and Cora Yarber, two brothers (Karl and Ross McKeeth) and a sister (Joyce McKeeth Gray). He is survived by two daughters, Shannon (John) Lloyd, Kirsten (Craig) Bond, four grandchildren; Jacob Lloyd, Allyson Bond, Logan Bond, and Lauren Lloyd, as well as, many beloved nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be Tuesday, July 18, 2017, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Turrentine Jackson Morrow Funeral Home located at 8520 Main Street, Frisco, TX, 75034. Services will be held Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. at Stonebriar Community Church, 4801 Legendary Drive, Frisco, TX 75034. Interment will follow at DFW National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, TX 75211. Donations may be made to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL, www.navalaviationmuseum.org, or to the American Vet Dog Organization, www.vetdogs.org or to Stonebriar Community Church, www.stonebriar.org/helping-others/giving in William J. Yarber’s name.