More detail on this person: Wilford Evert Hingston Jefferson - Will Hingston, 78, of Jefferson, Oregon passed away at home, Wednesday May 5, 2021, after a 6 year battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his wife, children, grandchildren, and great grandchild. Will was born in Wichita Falls, Texas on August 27, 1942 at Shepherd Air Force Base to Wilford "Bill" V. Hingston and Joan Ronan Hingston. When his father was deployed to England with the Army Air Corps in 1943, Will's mother moved to Chicago with Will and his brother, Alan, to live near family. In 1949 the family moved to Oregon and settled in Garden Home near Beaverton, Oregon. Will attended Garden Home Elementary School and Beaverton High School. After high school Will worked for Fritz Reinhart Construction, Evans Products Lumber Company and attended Portland State before deciding to enlist in the Army on May 7, 1965. From 1965 to 1966 Will was in helicopter flight school in Fort Wolters, Texas and advanced flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. In June 1966 he was sent to Vietnam and fought in the Vietnam War as a helicopter gunship pilot. After Vietnam, Will went back to Fort Wolters, Texas as a primary helicopter instructor pilot. Will met his wife, Pam, in February of 1968 while stationed at Fort Wolters. Pam was living in Dallas, Texas. They married October 5, 1968 in Sugar Land, Texas. Will left active duty in 1969 and moved to Oregon with Pam and their 6 week old son, Cully. In February 1970, Will joined the Oregon National Guard. He flew many missions for the Guard and was also a helicopter instructor pilot until he retired from the Guard on October 24, 1996. Will dedicated 30 years to the military; 26 of those years were with the Oregon National Guard. Will loved to fly and logged thousands of flight hours while with the National Guard. In July, 1970 Will and Pam moved to Salem, Oregon and Will began his law enforcement career on August 1, 1970 with the Marion County Sheriff's Office. He started out as a patrolman, was promoted to Patrol Sergeant, and then to Patrol Lieutenant. After patrol, Will was a detective for many years. During that time, he was promoted to Detective Sergeant and then Chief of Detectives. He went on to become Captain of the Enforcement Division and ended his career as Captain of the Support Division. Will retired from the Sheriff's Office in October of 1997. He started Hingston and Associates, his private investigative business, in 1998 and also worked for the Department of Justice as a Financial Fraud and Family Services Investigator. In addition, he conducted investigations for both Nike and Oakley. Will closed his private investigative business in 2005. In 1980 Will and Pam moved their family from Salem to Jefferson, Oregon, where they raised their three children, Cully, Matt, and Merideth. Will was a wonderful father who loved his children and supported them in every way possible. He showed his children and grandchildren unconditional love, patience, forgiveness, and grace. He taught them the meaning of honor, integrity, and loyalty, as well as how to have fun and enjoy the little things in life. Will loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. He shared with them his love for the outdoors by taking them hunting, fishing, camping, boating, Christmas tree hunting in the mountains, and many other adventures. He taught them to appreciate the beauty of nature. One of Will's greatest joys was watching his children and grandchildren participate in sports and other activities. He was their biggest fan and he swelled with pride any time he talked about them. Two of Will's greatest attributes, besides his love of family, were his patriotism and his passion for hunting. He was so proud of his country and he lived for the hunt. He instilled that love of country and joy of the outdoors in all of his family. Will is survived by his wife Pam; children Bart (Cully) Hingston, Matt Hingston (wife Jennifer), Merideth King (husband Justin); grandchildren Megan Smith (husband Connor), Hunter Rosenblatt, Madi Hingston, and Daniel Hingston; great granddaughter Ryland Smith. Will was very much loved and will be greatly missed. We will always carry with us the memories made, the laughter he created with his silly sense of humor, his love of family, our country, hunting, whiskey, wine and good food. He will live on in the beauty of the nature that surrounds us and in all of our hearts forever. Will's ashes will be scattered in a private family ceremony, in a special place in the Wallowa Mountains where he hunted for many years. A celebration of life will be held within a few months. We will reach out via contact lists and Facebook with details. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in his honor to the Wounded Warrior Project, https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org. If you wish, messages can be left for the family on the online obituary with Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service.
Burial information: Cremated
This information was last updated 05/16/2021
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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