McCool, Bill D.

Bill D. McCool, 84, of Marion, died of cancer Thursday, July 26, 2012, at home, with family by his side. There will be a Celebration of Life service beginning at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home. The family will greet friends starting at 10 a.m.

Bill will be remembered for his unconditional love of family, his kind and gentle ways, and witty sense of humor. He was a wonderful father - loving and encouraging. He enjoyed the simple pleasures of life: a conversation with friends, old and new, the companionship of his dogs (Jigs and Britt), a home-cooked meal, an ice cream sundae, a game of catch or cribbage. He was a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees and was thrilled to have met Babe Ruth as a boy. He enjoyed watching Hawkeye football games with his family. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Bill was born April 13, 1928, in Bayard, Iowa, to Kenneth and Mildred McCool. On April 10, 1950, he married Maurece McDermott; they later divorced.

He is survived by his children: Vicki Anderson (Conrad) of Mount Horeb, Wis., Mark McCool (Jan) of Cedar Rapids, Cindy Caspers (Scott) of Glen Ellyn, Ill., Caroline McCool of Cedar Rapids, Jenni McCool (Sol Simon) of Fountain City, Wis., Lisa McCool of Cedar Rapids, Pat McCool (Luciana) of Coralville, and Mike McCool of Maple Grove, Minn.; nine grandchildren: Danielle Wepking (Brandon) of Cedar Rapids, Nathan Anderson (Kaitlin) of Charlotte, N.C., Matt Anderson (Tina Chappuis) of Barcelona, Spain, Moses Simon (Marla Kuchler) of Minneapolis, Will Caspers of Elmhurst, Ill., Johnny Caspers of Palo Alto, Calif., Lucas McCool of Coralville, David Lawrence (Ann) of Cedar Rapids, and Gina Holmstedt of Cedar Rapids; and seven great-grandchildren: Sophia and Isabella Wepking of Cedar Rapids, Ella and Evan Anderson of Charlotte, N.C., Sam Lawrence of Cedar Rapids, and Maddy and Ryan Holmstedt of Cedar Rapids. Also surviving are cousins, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Theresia; and his friend of many years, Vivian Holecek.

Special thanks to Dad's wonderful friends at Hilltop Manor. Our family would like to extend our appreciation to the staff of St. Luke's Hospital and St. Luke's Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Luke's Hospice.

Online condolences may be left at www.cedar

memorial.com under “obituaries.”

Published July 29, 2012 in The Gazette