Obituary

Willard Rueben Maynard, 99, passed away on October 30, 2022. He was born August 26, 1923 at home in an apartment above a blacksmith shop in Northome, Minnesota to Thomas Vern and Viveon Helena (Mitchell) Maynard. He grew up on a small farm in Kelsey, Minnesota with a sister and two brothers. He graduated from Cotton High School (Cotton, MN) in 1941.

In 1944 Willard was drafted into the U.S. Army and reported to Camp Hood, Texas. His basic training was cut short as he was sent overseas on the Queen Elizabeth Luxury Liner which had been converted into a 12,000 men troop ship. They crossed the Atlantic in 5 ½ days landing in Glasgow, Scotland. From there he was headed to the front lines in Germany. However, Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day was declared so Willard fortunately never had to go to the front lines, he was one squadron short of getting there. While stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, he worked in the Information Booth for 6 months before being sent back to the United States. Willard received his Honorable Discharge on July 26,1946.

Willard’s education began by attending Duluth Business University, Duluth, Minnesota under the G.I. Bill and graduated in 1948 with a certification in Advanced Accounting. He began his professional career on April 2, 1948, in the bookkeeping department of Western National Bank, Duluth. He held many positions during his time at Western and in 1973 he became president of Park State Bank, located just outside of Duluth. He also volunteered his time serving as treasurer of the Lutheran Church & School of Christ the King, was on the board of directors for Faith Haven Inc. and received a Citation of Merit from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Willard retired from banking in August of 1985!

On July 14, 1951, Willard married his sweetheart, Elda Dallmann, and they had five children. Influenced by his wife, he was baptized into the Christian faith in 1952 at Grace Lutheran church, Duluth. In 1987 they moved from Duluth to Everett, Washington and in 1999 to Goodyear, Arizona as snowbirds and later full time. No matter where they lived, gardening was a passion of his and he always had abundant flowers and gardens in all climates.

He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Elda Maynard; children, Roger (Shirley of Everett, WA, Rod (Linda) of Portland, OR, Ross (Jeanne) of Buckeye, AZ, Brenda (Jeff Engstrom of Superior, WI and Brad (Sandy) of Buckeye, AZ; and a brother, Alvin Maynard of Kent, WA. He is also survived by 11 grand children and 19 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas and Viveon, sister Mildred (Dass), and brother Howard.

A visitation will be held at 1pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 830 E Plaza Circle, Litchfield Park, Arizona 85340 with the funeral service beginning at 2pm. Burial will be at a later date at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Cave Creek, Arizona.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, 830 E. Plaza Circle, Litchfield Park, Arizona 85340.