Bill Morrisette, a beloved former Springfield mayor, state legislator and longtime teacher known for his humor, energy and devotion to public service, died of natural causes on April 15. He was 93.
A funeral service will be livestreamed by St. Alice Catholic Church in Springfield at 12:15 p.m. on April 28.
“Mayor Bill” was a social studies teacher at Springfield High School (1966–1990), Springfield City Councilor (1987–1989), Mayor (1989–1999), and state legislator (1999–2010).
Bill was born in Anaconda, Montana, and was married to Janice Morrisette for 61 years before her death in 2013. They raised eight children, fourteen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. In a joint statement from Bill’s children, they said his “legacy is cemented in a life dedicated to family, education and public service.”
“Larger than life”
Longtime Springfield mayor and state legislator Bill Morrisette died April 15.
Garth Morrisette, one of Bill’s eight children, described his father as “larger than life and very outgoing.”
“I don’t think he ever met a stranger,” Garth said. “He would strike up a conversation with somebody at an event and it was like they were old friends right away, and that was what made him such an amazing public figure.”
“When I think back to Bill, I think mostly of a sense of humor, said Rob Romig, photojournalist for The Springfield News from 1989 to 1995 and editor of The Springfield News from 1995 to 1997. “His laugh was contagious. … He was known for crazy ties.”
Bill officiated Romig’s wedding. To prepare, Romig said Bill interviewed the friends and family of him and his wife. “He really threw himself into it.
Romig recounted a story from his time as a photojournalist, when a heavy rainstorm caused some minor flooding. A puddle had formed in front of Bill’s house, and Romig saw Bill cast a fishing pole into it.
“That was his personality,” Romig said.
Beloved teacher
Longtime Springfield mayor and state legislator Bill Morrisette died April 15.
Bill moved to Eugene-Springfield in 1961 to pursue graduate studies in teaching and taught at Hamlin Junior High School before moving to Springfield High School.
Garth described Bill as loved by his students. As mayor, he was especially fond of events with students. “The teacher in him was always present,” Garth said.
Conrad Roemer, a coworker who taught at Springfield High School alongside Bill, said he had an outgoing personality and was very popular with the students.
Devoted worker
Garth said Bill would regularly pursue side-hustles during his summers off from teaching. Odd jobs included commercial fishing and bricklaying, which he also taught his sons.
“He was a man of action. He had so many things going on and he was always busy,” Garth said. “And every single one of us eight kids were part of the crew.”
One anecdote that Garth and Roemer recalled was that Bill had founded a restaurant called “The Potlatch.” It was located next to Springfield High School and run by Springfield High teachers with the target audience of High School students. Roemer said Bill had 12 investors, “which speaks highly of how he was regarded … because he was able to enlist quite easily 12 investors in that idea.”
When the business failed after a few years, Bill was adamant about not leaving his creditors holding the bag, Roemer said. “That was very important to him. And we did see through with that.”
Bill’s time in local politics
According to a statement from the City of Springfield, Bill “championed regional cooperation and community well-being.”
The city said as mayor Bill served as President of the Oregon Mayor’s Association in 1993, led a committee on emergency and transitional housing and advocated for youth civic engagement through the Springfield and Thurston High School’s Model Government Day and contributed to the Springfield Filbert Festival Steering Committee, Springfield Tomorrow Project and the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority Board of Directors.
Before his election Bill had been involved in local government for years as one of Springfield’s leading liberal and pro-union activists, speaking out at council meetings and recruiting like-minded candidates to run for local office, eventually becoming mayor himself in a 1988 election.
Garth said that as mayor Bill elevated the office, saying he retired early to devote full time to the unpaid position.
“He was kind of a celebrity,” Garth remembered. “He was able to put Springfield first and elevate Springfield, but in a way that was not in confrontation with Eugene or with Lane County, but in a way that was collaborative.”
Mark Morrisette, another one of Bill’s sons, remembered his dad regularly talking to journalists.
“Bill would not shrink from any kind of a news story where they would call for a reaction from the mayor of the town,” he said. “He was always willing to respond publicly. … It was even said that he was more popular than the Eugene Mayor during that time.”
“I think his work ethic and his curiousness and sense of humor really helped put Springfield on the map during that time,” Romig said. “He was Mr. Springfield.”
Achievements that Mark remembered from Bill’s time as mayor included attracting a Sony CD plant and a sports complex to Springfield, as well as contributing to the beginnings of the Springfield Community Band, the local Habitat for Humanity chapter, and Project Starfish, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping people access low-income housing.
Mark said his mother, Bill’s wife Janice Morrisette, was by his side for many of these projects, and also served on the Willamalane Parks and Recreation Board for 13 years.
“The two of them were really ambassadors for Springfield,” Mark said. “They helped get the Filbert Festival launched, and they just devoted so much time to that event.
“Bill Morrisette embodied what it means to serve the community with compassion and clarity,” current mayor Sean VanGordon said in a statement. “His work lives on in the civic institutions he helped strengthen, the students he inspired, and the countless lives he touched. He was a true public servant and a pillar of Springfield’s story.”
Longtime Springfield mayor and state legislator Bill Morrisette died April 15.
Retirement
Bill, a Democrat, received a bipartisan standing ovation when he retired from the legislature in 2010 at age 79, where he was praised for his conscience and advocacy on behalf of poor, frail and disadvantaged Oregonians.
“I always thought it was quite a loss to the state when he retired from the Senate,” Roemer said.
Garth said that while he and his siblings moved out of Springfield when they grew up, Bill and Janice “were lifelong Springfielders.” Garth said Bill sold his house in 2019 after living there for 50 years and moved into Merrill Gardens at Sheldon Park in Eugene.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached byemail at atorres@registerguard.com, on X @alanfryetorres or on Reddit at u/AlfrytRG.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Bill Morrisette, former mayor and Oregon senator, passes away