MARYSVILLE — Wil and Durla Whetham had only taken three vacations since they opened their mom-and-pop grocery store on May 1, 1972.

Last year, they finally found the time to attend their first high school class reunion, and they’d recently started talking about retirement.

Wil Whetham never got to retire. The 68-year-old and his 13-year-old grand-nephew lost their lives after the boat they were on capsized off Camano Island on May 7 of this year.

Those who knew Wil Whetham, who was shrimp fishing with grand-nephew Austin Anglin and son Brian when the 18-foot boat overturned, described him as an experienced boater overwhelmed by a freak storm. Family, coworkers and customers considered him a friend and expressed sorrow over his passing.

Bruce Hamphton shopped at the Whethams’ Boulevard Grocery on 61st Street NE for 14 years, and deemed himself “devastated” now that Wil is gone.

“He was always there at the store, way before dawn, this big guy built like a tank in this little apron,” Hamphton laughed. “He was always cleaning and putting in the new produce, and he always took good care of himself. He was just this great salt-of-the-earth fellow. He always had a sense of humor and a big smile on his face. A lot of his employees have been there for a long time, because he was just a good man.”

Shari Chapman started working for the Whethams a decade ago, and is now the assistant manager of the Boulevard Grocery. Like Hamphton, she found it difficult to maintain her composure as she remembered the man who had meant so much to her.

“I didn’t have much of any grocery experience coming into this job, and he whipped me right into shape,” Chapman smiled. “He taught me everything I know about this business. I lost my dad before I started working here, and Wil became like a second father to me. He always told me he was proud of me.”

Chapman noted that Whetham came in at 2:30 a.m. so that he could leave at 9 a.m. and have the rest of the day free for his outdoor activities, from hunting and fishing to snowmobiling and quadding. She also recalled how, when one customer came in to get change to fill up the air in her tires, Whetham aired up the customer’s tires himself.

Durla Whetham continues to work at the store, and has received condolences and well-wishes from many of her customers. She chuckled as she admitted that, when she first met Wil in a tie and slacks, she thought she’d found herself a city boy. She soon learned how wrong she was.

“He was a real outdoorsman, so my whole life changed,” Durla Whetham said.

Both Wil and Durla’s lives changed again when Wil, who had previously worked at Albertsons for a dozen years, asked Durla to check out a small family-run grocery store whose owners were looking to retire.

“I couldn’t even find it at first,” Durla laughed. “It was a hole in the wall, not even half the size of our current space.”

The Whethams were so short of money that they had to call their parents for the down payment, which they agreed to after visiting the store themselves. While Wil and Durla promised they would pay their folks back, Wil also reassured Durla that, even if the store didn’t succeed, they were still young enough that they could recover from it.

In the nearly 40 years since then, the Boulevard Grocery has not only expanded its space, but also acquired refrigerator units and a liquor license. Over the years, Durla believes it’s built up its customer base through word of mouth.

“Our motto has always been that we’re here to serve our customers, because without them, we wouldn’t even be here,” Durla Whetham said. “My husband took so much pride in what he did here.”