GOLDEN VALLEY, MN (December 23, 2015) – Retired pastor and chaplain Wilbur (Bill) John Solie, 84, died Sunday, December 20.
Bill was born March 11, 1931, to Magne and Elsie Solie in Barron, Wisconsin. After high school, Bill attended North Park College and finished at the University of Minnesota. After graduation he married his college sweetheart, Judy Carlson.
He served two years in the US Army and then studied at North Park Seminary. Bill served the Community Church in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, and was founding pastor of Trinity Covenant Church in Salem, Oregon. In 1970 he was called into the Veteran’s Administration hospital chaplaincy, serving in San Fernando and Sepulveda, California, then for 19 years in Minneapolis..
Survivors include his wife and two children, John Solie and Linda Solie, as well as two grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, December 26, Bethlehem Covenant Church. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.
Bill and Judy Solie were key spiritual connections in my family’s life. When we moved to Boulder Junction, my dad was the seventh & eighth grade teacher and the elementary school principal. One day a teacher suggested, “Hey, Jim, why don’t you check out the new pastor over at the Community Church? I think you’ll like him.” Well we did and my mom and dad instantly became close friends with Bill and Judy. He was my pastor when I came to the Lord when I was 12. He was my confirmation teacher.
In the mid-60s the Solies left Boulder Junction and moved out to Salem, Oregon, to start the Covenant Church there. Two years later our family headed west, too. We were heading for southern California, but when the Solies heard of our move, they suggested we swing north for a quick visit with them in Salem. “Salem is beautiful, and you’ll love the Pacific highway along the Oregon and northern California coast.”
It seemed like a good idea, so we planned our trip to include the Oregon tour. When we hit Salem we loved it so much and the people in the new church that we unpacked the trailer and stayed. By noon on Monday my dad had a teaching job in the Salem School District. Salem is still ‘home’ for me, even if the Solies left for other adventures. They’re “family.”
Thanks be to God for Bill Solie! A kind and faithful servant of our Lord. He had a great sense of humor and a heart of compassion. May God bring comfort to his dear family!
While saddened by the news of Bill’s departure from us, I give thanks for his memory and the opportunity to have known him and experienced his friendship. He was a very faithful and caring servant of our Lord and I know his ministry blessed untold numbers of lives. God’s peace to his loved ones.