William Sheridan Ledford

William Sheirdan Ledford

Our beloved father, William (Bill) Sheridan Ledford, age 93 and a long time resident of Prineville, unexpectedly passed away at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon on July 8, 2021.

Bill (Dad), was born in Macon County, North Carolina on January 20, 1928 to James Alexander and Mary Ada (Raby) Ledford. The family lived in Burningtown, Franklin, North Carolina when he was a child. Bill had three brothers and four sisters. At a very young age his work in the timber industry brought him to Oregon.

On September 30, 1950, the love of his life, Betty Chloe Weems became his amazing wife when they traveled to Goldendale, Washington to get married. Together they raised four children, Tom, Jim, Judy and Ron in the small towns of John Day, Fossil, Heppner, Spray, Mt. Vernon, Baker, Kinzua and a few other towns in Oregon. Then the family settled in Prineville, Oregon where he worked in the mills until his retirement. Though his heart belonged to North Carolina, he loved Kinzua, Oregon. The mountains and woods for hunting and the rivers, lakes and streams for fishing. He always looked forward to spending time with his children and grandchildren, usually at a baseball field, dance recital, birthdays or hunting camp and often where the fish were biting.

Bill is survived by his children Tom (Marilyn) Ledford, Jim (April Weatherly) Ledford, Judy (Lonnie) O’Daniel and Ronny Ledford of Prineville. Sister Elizabeth of Georgia and a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Bill was preceded in death by his loving wife of 55 years, Betty, his parents James and Mary, his brothers Frank, Arnold and Harrison, his sisters Minnie, Iva Jean and Letha as well as two amazing grandson’s Daniel Monroe Ledford and Scotty Michael Ledford.

He will be truly missed!!

POEM

If I Knew

If I Knew it would be the last time I would see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord your soul to Keep.

If I knew it would be the last time I’d see you walk out the door,

I would hug you and kiss you and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I heard your name lifted up in praise,

I would video tape each action and words, so I could play it back for days.

If I knew it would be the last time to spare an extra minute or two,

I’d stop and say, “I love you,” instead of assuming that you know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day,

Well, I’m sure you’ll have many more, so I’ll let this one slip away.

For surely there is tomorrow to make up for an oversight,

And we’ll always get a second chance to make everything all right.

There will be another chance to say “I love you's” and

Certainly there's another chance to say our “anything I can do’s.”

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,

I’d like to say how much I love you and hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike

And today might be your last chance to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it all today?

For if tomorrow never comes, you will surely regret the day

That you didn't take the extra time for a smile or hug or kiss,

Or you were too busy to grant someone what turned out to be their last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today and whisper in their ear,

Tell them how much you love them and that you’ll always hold them dear.

Take the time to say, “I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you or it’s OK,”

And if tomorrow never comes, you’ll have no regrets about today.

Apologize and start anew, and tell the ones who love you,

That you love them too.

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