Benjamin Fulton Magill

Benjamin "Ben" Fulton Magill
October 18, 1927 - January 6, 2016
Following a long illness, Benjamin "Ben" Fulton Magill of Independence, OR passed away on January 6, 2016. He was 88 years old. Ben was born in Seattle, WA on October 18, 1927 to Nilmah Miller Snyder Magill, and Fulton Young Magill. He was their second child. His sister, Nilmah Elizabeth Gray, recently turned 90 and lives in Tacoma, WA near her entire family.
Ben's father worked for the telephone company so the family moved from Tacoma, where Ben attended Stadium High School, then moved to Palo Alto (which, coincidentally, is his wife Nancy's home town), then to Woodside. The community was in the country, so Ben was able to have a horse, and attended Sequoia High School in Redwood City. The family moved back to Tacoma and Ben started college at the University of Washington and majored in engineering. He joined Psi Upsilon fraternity, which was also his father's fraternity.
Ben was drafted into the 106th Airborne Air Control Squadron, and served as an Air Force Traffic Controller during the 1946 and 1947 at several airbases in the U.S. While gone, he wrote his parents every day, and these letters were saved.
When the war ended he returned home and decided that his scholastic interests were really farming, dairy science, and agricultural. He graduated with a B.S. degree in Animal Science from Washington State College in 1952. He then attended Oregon State University to get his Master's Degree in Dairy Production Science in 1954, followed by a PhD degree in Dairy and Animal Husbandry in 1960. He was a graduate assistant for the Dairy Department at Oregon State. Some of his research with cattle was done in Tillamook, which required weekly trips to that location.
Meanwhile, his father decided it would be nice to have a farm in the Willamette Valley as he saw the beauty of it when he was traveling in Independence and later began milking cows.
While at Oregon State, Ben met Nancy at the end of her senior year. Nancy had already been accepted to her dietetic internship in Rochester, NY. Again, Ben wrote a letter to her every day and she to him. They were married at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Palo Alto on September 12, 1959. They made their first home in Corvallis, and then moved to Monmouth to be closer to the farm. Their first child, Nancy Anne, was born in the Corvallis hospital the day of the Columbus Day Storm. After knowing that Nancy and baby were safe in the hospital, he drove back to the farm to check on his parents and the farm. Fortunately, the building roofs stayed on and a neighbor brought in water for the cows.
Their second child, Heather Lee (Larry) was born in 1964. Their last child, Robin Elizabeth (Paul) was born in 1972. Then the family had a new house built near the farm in Independence.
Ben was a member of the Elks Club, belonged to the Jaycees in Corvallis and Independence, and was an Eagle Scout in his earlier years. Ben was an active member of the St. Hilda's Episcopal Church in Monmouth. He held positions of senior warden and clerk of the Bishop's advisory committee. He took pride in upgrading the church grounds and taking care of the building.
Ben ran for the Polk County Commissioner position in 1979 and stayed in office for 3 terms, a total of 12 years, during which time he reportedly ended up working with the most commissioners in the history of Polk County.
Ben and Nancy supported the WOU Fine Arts program, Polk County Museum, St. Paul's Episcopal Church Music Guild, and Willamette Heritage Center (formerly Mission Mill Museum) and the Elsinore Theater's renovation project.
After Ben retired he enjoyed going to Burgerville in Monmouth for coffee with a great group of friends. He built a shed for his tractor and a shop and installed a wood stove in it to keep warm when needed. He was always fixing something or inventing a way to be more efficient, like building a wood bin that he could fill with wood and take it into the garage on the tractor to use in his wood furnace. He also created a pond in front of their house that many enjoyed for fishing and riding on a barge that he built. Ducks came and settled on the island in the center.
Ben leaves behind his wife of 56 years, Nancy Lee Richards Magill; his three daughters, and four grandchildren: Robert Fulton Hedrick, Benjamin Magill Allen, Madeline Elizabeth Allen, and Olivia Marie Allen. It was a blessing he could be with his whole family at Christmas time.
Viewing will be 1-5 PM Thurs., Jan. 21, at Farnstrom Mortuary, Independence. Service will be 11 AM, Fri., Jan. 22, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem. Remembrances may be made to St. Hilda's Episcopal Church in Monmouth, OR; or a charity of your choice.
Memories and condolences at FarnstromMortuary.com.