Martin County NcArchives Obituaries.....Chesson Jr., Willie Lee 2010 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Alex Chesson alex@chesson.org June 27, 2010, 5:48 pm Pacifica Tribune Obituary : WILLIE LEE CHESSON JR. Pacifica Tribune 06/03/2010 06:00:00 AM PDT Willie Lee Chesson, Jr. peacefully crossed over to the land that has borne no traveler's return, departing from the Pacifica, CA house he has called home since 1952, at 10:30 Friday May 28. His wife and sweetheart of 68 years, Lucy Faye Chesson (Matthews), was at his side. His time in this world began June 2, 1920 in Williamston, NC. He grew up on a family farm in Beargrass, NC on a diet of hard work and family values. His father became severely ill when he was a freshman in high school and even though he had a basketball scholarship waiting for him when he graduated, he left school to keep the family farm alive. Sports played a major role in Willie's life. He was recruited into the San Francisco Seals AAA team but declined to play as the $50 a month paid to minor league players could not support his family. In addition to team sports, Willie was an avid fisherman and hunter. When he was 16 Willie was involved in an auto accident that left him with a broken neck; normally a death sentence in that era. A young Tarboro doctor created the first "halo" cervical restraint and Willie recovered, gaining international attention for a device that has now saved thousands of lives. Though the metal "halo" was removed, Willie had a halo over him his entire life, continuing the unselfishness that kept the family farm alive at the cost of his education. In fact when he was awarded a $3,700 judgment for the injuries sustained in the accident he gave all but $500, that he used to buy a car, to his father to start a grocery store. His parents, Willie Lee Chesson, Sr. and Emma Jean Chesson (Ambrose) became very successful with their store and farm. When WWII erupted Willie was told he could not enlist due to his broken neck. Undeterred in his quest to help his nation, he went to work for the Department of Defense in the shipyards of Newport News, VA. He soon proved his mettle as an electrician and supervisor and was asked to transfer to the West Coast in 1944. He chose Hunter's Point and lived there until moving to Pacifica, which was not yet a city, where he sold real estate to supplement his income. He joined the Coastside Masonic Lodge in 1962, was the Master three times and in 2005 received the prestigious Hiram Award for practicing Masonic ideals and community service. In his 42 year career as an electrical technician with the Department of the Navy, Willie was involved with many classified projects and was offered many upper level jobs, including working for an admiral in the Pentagon. He turned these down, saying "he didn't have the education". Yet it is obvious whatever he lacked in formal education he made up for in "human knowledge." In a time in our nation's history when bigotry was the norm, Willie chose to heed the advice of his father and grandfather and to "measure a man by the truth of his words and his actions". Due to this Willie was often assigned the "oddballs," "problem people" or Asians to work on his crew. Despite the prevailing racism of the time, Willie forged friendships with his crews. He earned their friendship by finding out what a man did best, assigning them that work and helping them to be the best that they could be. Because of this, Captain's would often request Willie's crews to perform repairs on their ships. One of the things Willie was most proud of was the letter he received from Golden Gate College for the coursework he completed there, which if it were a standard college program would have earned him a master's degree. Being a proximate family man, Willie was preceded in death by his daughter Linda and is survived by his wife Lucy Faye; daughter Susan Pappaleo of Elk Grove; sons Michael (Peggy) of Placerville, CA; and Richard (Sandy) of Louisville, KY; grandsons Shawn Turner, Bret Chesson, Mark Chesson, Keith Chesson and Brent Chesson along with 3 great grandchildren. Masonic services will be held at Chapel By The Sea Saturday, June 5, at 5 p.m. Remembrance reception to follow. In lieu of flowers the family has requested that donations be made to the Shriner's Hospital. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/martin/obits/c/chessonj2090ob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ncfiles/ File size: 4.7 Kb