Billy Wilson

BILLY WILSON

Monticello

Billy Junior Wilson, 91, of Monticello, passed away Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, peacefully at his home

surrounded by his family. Private family services will be at Goettsch Funeral Home, Monticello. Interment will be at Oakwood Cemetery, with military honors accorded by the U.S. Navy.

Thoughts, memories and condolences may be left at www.goettschonline.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the United Church of Monticello.

Billy was born July 13, 1924, to Oscar and Hazel Holdridge Wilson on a farm one mile north of Delhi. In 1936, when he was 11, his family moved to Troy Mills. On the first day of school he was sent to the superintendent's office for sticking his tongue out at his teacher when she turned her back to him, because she had lectured him on school rules and regulations. The teacher's pet tattled on him and that is how the teacher found out what he had done. At 16, he missed the school bus and never attended school again.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was assigned to the U.S.S. Diomedes ARB11. He served as a helmsman and steered the ship through the Panama Canal. They made several stops to many islands. His ship was the first U.S. ship to arrive in Hong Kong during World War II. From Hong Kong, they sailed to Shanghai. On their return to Pearl Harbor, they received the good news that the war was over after Harry Truman ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan. He earned enough points to be discharged in 1946.

In 1949, Billy met his future wife, Charlotte Torrey, at the Walker Homecoming celebration. He married Charlotte on May 20, 1951, at the United Methodist Church, Walker. They farmed in Castle Grove Township, Jones County, Iowa, where they raised their six children.

In 1989, he retired after farming for 44 years and rented out the farm. In 1998, he moved off the farm to a condo in Monticello, where he resided until his death.

Billy enjoyed playing cards, horseshoes, golfing, ballroom dancing and gardening. He was a member of the Lions Club and a hospice volunteer for Mercy Medical Center.

Billy is survived by his children, Darcy (Steve) Kraus, Shane (Diane) Wilson, Tori (Gary) Manternach and Shar (David) Welter; a son-in-law, Jerry Frawley; 16 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and a close friend, Cathy Ralston.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Doris and Gayle; his wife of 44 years, Charlotte; a son, Mitch; and a daughter, Tamy Frawley.