BELLINGHAM, Wash. — An Orcas Island man who was the fourth generation of his family to chronicle the island’s weather has passed away.
John Willis died at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham at age 79 Saturday.
KOMO Meteorologist Scott Sistek reports the Willis family settled on the island in 1886, and Richard Willis started recording weather observations for the Signal Corps. in 1890.
Richard’s son and grandson kept up the record keeping until handing the reigns to John in 1985.
Sistek says John Willis didn’t marry and has no children so it’s uncertain whether the family’s weather-watching legacy will continue.