William Dollinger Preston, II, M.D. 1950-2019

Dr. William Preston died June 4, 2019, of ALS. He was born in Denver, Colorado, on June 16, 1950, to William D. Preston and Vivian Scoville Preston. Bill grew up in Raymond, Alberta, Canada, and graduated from high school in 1968. He then attended the University of Lethbridge for three years and graduated from the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1975 earning an MD.

After a rotating internship, Dr. Preston began practicing Family Medicine in Medicine Hat, Alberta. In 1979, he and his family moved to Orem, Utah, where he practiced Family Medicine for another 39 years at Cherry Tree Family Practice which he founded. He was also the medical director at Geneva Steel for 18 years from 1983 to 2001. He loved interacting with his many patients, whom he considered his friends. Thousands of people saw Dr. Preston over the years and shared their most important moments with him and his office staff.

Bill was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and loved serving others in the Church. He loved cruising and trips to Hawaii with Maxine, family members, and friends, and some of his favorite memories were of family trips to Lake Powell. He loved sitting on a chair with a Diet Coke watching the kids play in the water, or fixing one of the endless issues on the houseboat or with the water toys. He loved fixing things, and there wasn’t anything he could not fix. He often said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing twice,” and he wanted to get things finished quickly and efficiently. He was constantly doing things to help people; it was not unusual to find him stitching up someone in the kitchen where he’d insist, “This won’t hurt me a bit.” He was a true handyman and helped people with plumbing, electrical, drywall, cars, and any home improvement task. He was a renaissance man: he knew something about everything, and he was willing to listen, advise, and jump in when people needed help. He was always generous with his time and talents, and he genuinely loved the people he served.

Bill is survived by his wife of 47 years, Maxine, his mother Vivian Bourne, and his children Jill (John) Phippen; Mark (Kristen) Preston; Sarah (Brandon) Silva, and Jennifer (Joseph) Johnson. He was preceded in death by his father William Preston, son David, and his stepfather Ira Bourne. Bill and Maxine have 19 grandchildren: Karlee, Breea, Makenna, Jackson, Brooke, Maddie, Kahri, Xandri, Mark, Seth, Halle, Asa, Kassidy, Delia, Maxwill, Luke, Jake, Henry, and Micah.

A funeral will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2019, at 11:00 AM at the Stonewood Stake Center (450 S 100 W, Orem). Friends may greet the family on Friday, June 7, 2019, from 6-8 PM at the stake center.