John William Willburn

John William Willburn, better known as Bill or Coach Willburn, was born on February 6, 1943 in Pueblo, Colorado. He was the third of four children born to John Aaron Willburn and Marguerite Owens Willburn.

Bill married the love of his life, Jean Kathleen Hohman on August 7, 1965. Together, they celebrated 54 years of marriage. Jean cared for Bill for most of his life, until Bill became the caretaker in Jean's final years. Their grandchildren will all remember Bill's absolute devotion to his precious Jeanne.

In his early adulthood, Bill attended Adams State College and received a Bachelor's Degree in English Education. Bill's teaching career brought him to Salt Lake City, Utah for one year before he moved with Jean to Sidney, Nebraska in 1967, where he became a father of four.

Bill also attended the University of Northern Colorado where he received his Master's Degree in Special Education. He continued to teach both English and Special Education at Sidney High for decades.

Sports were also a huge part of Bill's life. At Adams State, he played college baseball, and later, he played semi-pro baseball for a couple years, leading the league in batting percentage (and probably errors), a fact he would readily admit.

At Sidney High, Bill elevated Sidney girls' athletics, coaching the volleyball and basketball teams to several state championships. In 2012, Bill was honored for his contributions to the Title IX expansion of women's sports in Nebraska at the state volleyball tournament in Grand Island.

When Bill passed on July 23rd, 2024, he was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings, and his beloved wife Jeanne. He is survived by his four children – Kent Willburn (Renee), Beth Jones (Mike), Matt Willburn (Laurie), and Lisa Warwick (Brent) – and twelve grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held in his honor on August 24th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm at Matt and Laurie's residence: 6630 Pawnee Circle, Omaha, Nebraska 68152. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Women's Sports Foundation (https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org), so Bill can continue his legacy of supporting Title IX and women's right to play.