William H. Jennings

William H. Jennings

Eugene, Oregon

William H Jennings, 72, of Eugene, OR, died October 4, 2023 after a brief battle with cancer. Born July 4, 1951, he was the firstborn child of the late Frank and Joyce Jennings. He grew up in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School and the University of Iowa. By the late 1970’s he decided he’d had enough of Iowa winters and moved to the west coast, settling in Eugene and spending the rest of his life there.

It was in Eugene that he met and married Linda Loft. He was taking a computer programming course at Lane Community College and Linda was his instructor. He asked her for a date and she turned him down because she did not date her students. He persisted, she relented, and the rest, as they say, is history. Linda survives him.

Computer programming ended up being William’s life work. In the 1980’s he accepted a position with the state of Oregon Judicial System, upgrading computer systems and writing software for the court system until his retirement. Upon retirement, William had more time to pursue his many interests including reading, astronomy, science fiction, discussing world events, hiking and walking, caring for his cats and fish, playing video games, and visiting Dutch Brothers for his daily latte.

William was an incredibly intelligent, funny, reliable and generous person. He was so loved by his family. He and Linda shared 4 children and 7 grandchildren whom he thought the world of. He is survived by 3 children, Aaron Loft, Dara (Doug) Doty, and David (Diane) Sauter as well as 1 grandson and 6 granddaughters. He is also survived by 2 sisters, Judy (Jeff) Hoover and Nancy Jennings (Kevin Zvacek), and their children, Dorian and Dalton Hoover and Stephanie, Melanie and Nicholas Loesel. Lastly, his 2 cats, Ella and Leo, survive him; Leo named for William’s grandpa Leo McDermott who William states was one of the best humans he ever knew.

William was preceded in death by his beloved daughter, Alycia Ronnenberg in 2019, and his brother Steven in 2022.

William faced his illness with bravery and dignity. None of us expected this to progress so quickly and none of us got to say goodbye. We are stunned and devastated by his death and he will be so incredibly missed. A celebration of his life is planned in Eugene for 11/12/2023.