William R. "Bill" Lemon

William (Bill) was the middle child of five siblings born to Frank F. Lemon, Jr. and Ruth M. Lemon in Stockton, California, on August 20, 1930. He is survived by his son Daniel Bryan Lemon of Meridian, Idaho, and daughter-in-law Sheri, his granddaughter Esther Joy Martin of New Hudson, Michigan, her husband Eric and great granddaughter Adeline, granddaughter Sarah Beth Marquez of Stockton and great grandsons Isaac and Carlos, his grandson Philip Daniel Lemon of Kuna, Idaho, his wife Hannah, and two great grandchildren, Vivian and Walter.

Bill graduated from Jackson School in 1944 and Stockton High School in 1948. In 1951 he joined the U.S. Navy as a Naval Airman. He saw duty as an instructor at Memphis, Tennessee, and a Link Trainer instructor at Key West Naval Air Station, Florida. While stationed at Key West, he met his wife-to-be Ruth Walden in Miami, Florida. They were married on November 26, 1954, and lived together for 55 years until she passed away on December 20, 2009.

Following Bill’s discharge from the Navy on February 11, 1955, Bill enrolled in the Nyack Missionary College at Nyack, New York. Graduating in May, 1958, he and his wife were appointed by the Christian & Missionary Alliance to become house parents at the Alliance Academy in Quito, Ecuador. Following seven months of Spanish language studies in San Jose, Costa Rica, they arrived in Quito, Ecuador. On April 15, 1959. After serving as house parents for two years, he and his wife were transferred to Otavalo, Ecuador, where Bill became the pastor of a small Spanish church.

Returning to Stockton in 1963, Bill, in 1964, became a Social Worker for the County of San Joaquin, and also was hired by Humphreys College of Stockton to be their night school administrator. After 17 months the College hired him to become a full-time instructor and administrator. He received his M.A. degree in Inter-American Studies from The University of the Pacific in 1969. After 30 years with Humphreys, he retired in 1995.

During his life he served the Christian & Missionary Alliance as the Central Pacific District Alliance Men’s president, and 3 years as the secretary of the International Alliance Men’s Committee, He also served 8 years as vice chairman of the Trustee’s Board of the Alliance Redwoods Conference Center, Occidental, California.

Bill loved his Lord Jesus Christ greatly. He was involved with the Alliance Church of Stockton for 75 years and more recently, with the Heritage Bible Church of Boise, Idaho, since moving to Meridian, Idaho, in 2018.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of William R. "Bill" Lemon, please visit our floral store.