William "Bill" Link

William"Bill" D. Link, long time business man and resident of Jackson County, passed away of natural causes at his home on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 at the age of 84. He is known as the "Hard Rock" of Panther Crushing Company, Inc. and as the "Great Host" of fine dining and entertainment at the Shenandoah Inn and the Mon Desir' restaurants. Born Nov. 28, 1924 in Slippery Rock, PA., he was the youngest of six children born to David and Lois(Stine) Link. He was the the son of a German dairy farmer and learned what hard work was like at an early age. After his school years, Bill served a stint in the military during WWII. After the military he spent most of his time building, developing and selling various businesses which included a coal stripping operation, saw mills, taverns, restaurants and rock crushing. he spent the last 31 years as the owner/operator of Panther Crushing Co. Inc. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed being out on his D8 dozer. He enjoyed being able to take control of the land and develope it. He used his D8 like it was an artists paint brush and the earth was his canvas. He spent many evenings watching the wildlife around his home. Bill was a life member of the Medford Masonic Lodge. "Hard Rock" willbesadly missed. He is survived by his children; Billie Christy of PA., Marsha Walker of Vancouver, WA., David W. Link of Eagle Point, OR., Elzada Beck of Vancouver, WA., and Tammy Hayes of Oakland, OR.,6 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren, two brothers;Howard Link and Herb Link of Butler, PA., He was preceded in death by two brothers and a sister. Funeral services will be at 12:00PM Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 at the Memory Gardens Chapel. Mausoleum entombment will follow at the Memory Gardens Mausoleum.