Wilma Lee (Jaques) McGahan, 85, passed away on Oct. 31, 2016. She was born on Dec. 16, 1930, in Federal St. Bend, Ore., to Ila C. Jaques Sr. and Alda (Schmidt) Jaques. She started school several times during her first, second and third grades when her parents divorced and she and her siblings spent a lot of time with their grandparents, Mathew M. and Maude Schmidt in Terrebonne, Ore. Her mother re-married to Cloyd Burdett. She spent time in Lakeview, Ore., and they settled on a farm in Alfalfa, Ore., near Bend until the war forced Mr. Burdett to move them to Portland, Ore., to work on Liberty Ships in the shipyards. They spent three years there. Upon moving back to Bend, Wilma attended Bend High School and married William "Bill" McGahan on June 26, 1949, a year before she graduated. She worked at several jobs in Bend, including Troy Laundry and as an usherette at Tower and Capitol Theaters until the birth of their daughter, Kathryn, in 1952. In January 1960, she and her daughter joined her husband William in Klamath Falls, where he had been transferred by Bend Portland Truck Company. Her son, Mark, was born in Klamath Falls on July 14, 1962. She had several jobs in Klamath Falls, including Sam Wong Lumber Co., Tulelake horseradish plant, potato fields and Klamath County School District as a dishwasher at Peterson and Ferguson elementary schools until she became a bus driver in 1974. She drove bus until 1985 when she could no longer drive due to health complications from a school bus and semi-truck accident in 1981. She worked as an office girl at maintenance, then back to the bus shop as a dispatch secretary until her retirement in June 1994 so she could help baby-sit her grandchildren, who became the center of her life. She loved family dinners and gatherings with her kids and grandkids and friends. She loved being able to help people, even though she suffered with arthritis. Her joy of music, horses and dogs was also a big part of her life as well as sports with her husband and kids. Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Kathy and Tim Kennon; son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Shawn McGahan; two grandsons, Christopher and Trenton McGahan, all of Klamath Falls.; sister, Joyce Hoffman of Prineville, Ore.; brother and sister-in-law, Jole and Peg Jaques of Prineville; and numerous nieces and nephews. At her request, there will be no funeral services and her ashes will be released at her favorite secluded spot she loved along with her husband's ashes. Memorial donations may be made to the Humane Society, hospice, or . Davenport's Chapel of the Good Shepherd, directors, at 2680 Memorial Drive, Klamath Falls, OR 97601, 541-883-3458, is in charge of the arrangements.
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