Glenn Willman

Glenn R. Willman, 85, Bismarck, passed away Sunday, July 30, 2006, at the Underwood Prairie View Nursing Home surrounded by his wife and daughter. Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday, August 4, at Zion Lutheran Church, Bismarck, with the Rev. Thomas R. Marcis, Jr. and Rev. James A. Baneck officiating. Burial will be in the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Visitation will be held at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck on Wednesday, Augugust 2, from 5 pm - 9pm, Thursday, August 3, from 9 am - 9 pm, and one hour prior to the Friday afternoon services. A service for friends and family will also be held at Eastgate Funeral Service on Thursday, August 3, from 7 pm - 9 pm. Glenn Robert Willman was born on Bastille Day, July 14, 1921, in Oriska, ND, to John and Katherine Elizabeth Klockmann Willman. He was raised in Jamestown and graduated from Jamestown High School in 1941. That fall he began his lifelong profession in bus transportation as a taxi driver and ticket agent at the Union Bus Depot in Jamestown. Drafted into the U.S. Army on June 6, 1942, his WWII service assigned him to an ordinance based depot company in London, England and Brussels, Antwerp, Belgium. Following his honorable discharge on December 5, 1945, he returned to work in Jamestown at the Yellow Cab Company and Union Bus Depot. In 1947-1948 he drove for the Manitoba Border Bus Line and then from 1948-1953 he did charter work, drove daily route service between the cities of Minot-Bismarck-Williston and Crosby and worked as a ticket agent for Interstate Transportation Co. It was during these years that he met Pearl Elaine Martin who had been an occasional passenger on the route between Minot and Rolla as she made visits to her home in Rock Lake, ND, on holidays and weekends. After a 3-year courtship they were married on June 15, 1952 in Rock Lake. In 1954-55 Glenn became Owner/Operator of Nodak Bus Line. When he folded that business in 1955 he became employed as Assistant Director of Traffic, Motor Carrier Division, Public Service Commission with the State of North Dakota. In the spring of 1958 he became the Terminal Manager and Commission Agent for Greyound Bus Lines in Helena, Montana. While in Montana Glenn and Pearl's daughter, Vicki, was born in April of 1959. In the spring of 1960 Glenn and his family returned to Bismarck. He rejoined the Motor Carrier Division of the PSC in his former position where he remained until the spring of 1971. On May 1, 1971, he acquired the entire Greyhound Bus Agency in Bismarck from the Harty Co. becoming sole Owner/Operator of the Union Bus Terminal, Central Bus Line, and Bus Depot Restaurant. In 1976 he formed a family corporation of these businesses under the name of Bus Services, Inc. He semi-retired in January 1984, turning over management of the family business to his daughter and continued to work part-time as night-shift ticket agent until July 30, 1994, when he and his daughter turned the Bismarck Bus Depot back to Greyhound. During his years in the transportation industry he held memberships in the Highway Users Federation, Bus History Association, National Association of Bus Commission Agents, Bis-Man Traffic and Transportation Club, United Bus Owners of America, American Bus Association, and North Dakota Motor Carriers Association. During his years of membership with the NDMCA he served as a director and represented the voice of passenger carriers operating in North Dakota. In 1992 he was honored with the North Dakota Motor Carriers Association's Pioneer Carrier Award. Glenn was an accomplished athlete having played basketball, football and tennis in high school as well as pursuing a life-long passion for golfing and competitive league bowling. His hobbies included collecting decks of playing cards, and scale model replicas of buses, cars and trucks. He loved to travel and planned an annual out-of-state vacation for his family every year. In retirement Glenn and Pearl spent several winters in Las Vegas, NV, and traveled extensively visiting friends and relatives. He also spent many hours typing letters to friends and relatives, and worked on his projects to catalog his decks of cards, hundreds of photographs, and years of correspondence while listening to Country Western music. In January of 1988 he reconnected with his son, Samuel Keith, from a prior marriage. The family requests memorials to be directed to Underwood Praire View Nursing Home, Zion Lutheran Church, and the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery Foundation. Glenn is survived by his wife, Pearl, Bismarck; his daughter, Vicki, Owings Mills, MD; daughter-in-law, Sandi Willman, Rockford, IA; his grandchildren, Amy Noss, Greg Willman, and Brad Willman; his great-grandchildren, Annaka, Alana, and Avarie Noss, and Evan Willman; his sisters and brothers-in-law, Fran Willman, and Jean Willman, Jamestown, Sally Willman, Sun City, AZ, Milton and Theresa Martin, Leila Peterson, and Marvin Martin, Rock Lake, Harold and Laila Swenson, Dickinson, Celia and Oscar Johnsrud, Watford City, Eugene and Bev Martin, Kent, WA, and Dennis and Carol Martin, Hawley, MN; and numerous nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents; nine brothers and sisters; and his son.

Glenn Willman

July 14, 1921 - July 30, 2006