By LYNDON ZAITZ of the Keizertimes
Mike Satalich (left) and William (Bill) Flanary Jr. both celebrated their 101st birthdays at Avamere Court at Keizer, on Sunday, Sept. 1.
They were born the same day—Sept. 1, 1923, almost 2,100 miles apart. One was born in Missouri and the other in Oregon.
More than 100 years later, William (Bill) Flanary Jr. and Mike Satalich both live at Avamere Court at Keizer, where they recently were honored on their shared birthday.
Bill was born in the small town of Winona, Missouri, the second of three children of William and Myrtle Flanary. His earliest memories include hunting with a .410 shotgun at a creek near his home.
Both of Bill’s siblings are deceased.
At age 18, after graduating from Winona High School, he signed up for the draft to enter the U.S. Navy. He was 19 when he was finally inducted in 1941. During World War II he was a medic.
Flanary was stationed for a year at a Navy hospital in Sun Valley, Idaho. While there he met Helen, who would become his wife. Helen had moved with her mother and sisters to Bentonville, Arkansas.
His ship was in the waters around Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and was in Tokyo Bay as the peace treaty was signed on the USS Missouri. Due to a severe storm, his ship was ordered out into the open sea.
After his discharge from the military, Flanary traveled to Bentonville. Within months he and Helen were married.
The couple were married for 76 years until her passing in late 2022.
Bill attended a business college in Springfield, Missouri.
During this time, Bill and Helen welcomed two daughters, Nancy and Jerrie. They relocated to Twin Falls, Idaho, where he began a long career in the banking industry.
He got a job with Fidelity National Bank, where he was an assistant cashier and an auditor.
When he reached retirement age, Bill and Helen discussed places to retire. The couple had traveled through Salem on their way to Oregon coast vacations for years, and they liked the city. They bought a house and started their retirement years in Salem. They also spent winters in El Centro, Calif. and Yuma, Ariz.
The greatest inventions during his lifetime, said Bill, were the atomic bomb and television.
His birthday buddy, Mike Satalich, was an electrical technician while he served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Canberra.
Mike was a carpenter on the crew that built Camp Adair, near Corvallis.
He was married to Betty, and they had two children, Tim and Nancy. Nancy died in an accident a few years ago.
The two men were feted with balloons, a steak dinner and birthday cake by the residents and the staff at Avamere Court on Sunday, Sept. 1.