Jacob Wanner

Jacob Wanner, age 83, surrounded by his loved ones peacefully passed away in his home along the Umpqua river. He was born on November 20th, 1927 in Portland, Oregon. He attended St. Patrick's grade school At the young age of 15 he joined the Sailors Union of the Pacific and became a Merchant Marine. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corp near the end of WWII and served in China and Japan. In 1948 he was discharged from the USMC. He returned to sail as an Able Bodied Seaman with the Merchant Marines during both the Korean and Vietnam wars, and in 1990 at the age of 63 he again answered his Countries call for Merchant Mariners to serve during Operation Desert Storm.
In 1959 Jake opened Centennial Glass Company in Portland, Oregon which is still in operation today. He then traveled to Hilo, Hawaii and founded Big Island Glass Company. And in 1984 he founded Wanner Enterprises where he built beautiful decorative glass windows.
After his retirement he went back to sea as a Merchant Seaman and sailed for a few months every year. In 1992 his Merchant Mariner service during WWII was finally recognized and he received and honorable discharge. He was decorated with a Victory Medal, Vietnam Service Bar, Pacific War Zone Bar, Korean Service Bar, and an Honorable Service button.
At the age of 72, he settled down in Umpqua. Dedicated to serving those who had served, Jacob volunteered as a driver for the Disabled American Veterans from 2001 until 2009.
He is survived by his wife of 27 years Jo. He was embraced as Pop by all the children who knew him, and he embraced all the children who loved him as his own. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Roseburg DAV in Jacob's memory. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday January 29th, 2010 at Neighbor Church of Christ 450 Hawthorne St. Sutherlin, Oregon at 1:00 pm Private inurnment was held within the Roseburg National Cemetery.