William 'Bill' Dale Jr.

WILLIAM C. "BILL" DALE JR.

Cedar Rapids

William C. "Bill" Dale Jr., 92, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away May 20, 2022, at the Dennis & Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy in Hiawatha, Iowa. Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 1, at St. Jude Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, where the family will greet friends an hour prior to Mass. The funeral Mass will be livestreamed. Go to https://judes.org/mass-in-times-of-illness. Inurnment with military honors will follow at Mount Calvary Cemetery. Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cedar Rapids, assisted the family with arrangements.

Bill was born Aug. 2, 1929, in St. Joseph, Mo., the son of William Sr. and Fern (Cushman) Dale. After graduating high school, Bill honorably served his country in the United States Navy from 1948-1952, he then attended Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. He was united in marriage to the love of his life, Mary Anne King, on Aug. 28, 1954, in Ames. Mary Anne passed away in April 2021.

Bill was baptized and raised at St. Patrick Catholic Church, where he served as an altar server. He had previous memberships at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, St. Matthew Catholic Church, and was currently a member of St. Jude Catholic Church. Bill was active in the Knights of Columbus and the Cedar Rapids Stamp Club. As a young boy, Bill was a member of the Cedar Rapids Boys YMCA Drum & Bugle Corps. He was proud to have been inducted into the George Washington High School Athletic Hall of Fame, along with his wife, Mary Anne, for their contributions and involvement with the Athletic Boosters.

Bill enjoyed traveling with Mary Anne and hunting with his brothers and sons. He attended a zillion family music and sporting events and was known as a meticulous statistician for his children and grandchildren's ball games. Bill was a lifelong Cyclone and Packer fan, and an avid scrapbooker of their travels, family gatherings, the city of Cedar Rapids and the Lincoln Highway. He proudly participated in the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., in May 2018. Bill was a very prayerful person who loved God, his family, and his country. He will be deeply missed.

Survivors include his children, Susan (Ladd) Heath of Iowa City, Anne Lala (Rob, deceased), Maureen (John) Dale Ernst, all of Cedar Rapids, Mary Beth (Bob) Seidl of Urbandale, Colleen (Ilene Coon) Dale of Bloomington, Minn., Meg (Larry) Boer of Walker, Pat (Susie) Dale of Cedar Rapids, Mike (Jaleh) Dale of Hayward, Calif., Cathy (David) Peters of Urbandale and Carey Dale of Des Moines; 27 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; siblings, James "Jim" Dale (Gayle, deceased) of Irvine, Calif., and Joan (Dennis) Kling of Austin, Texas; and many nieces, nephews and extended family.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Mary Anne Dale; daughter, Laurie Dale; son-in-law, Rob Lala, Jr.; siblings: Robert "Bob" Dale, Jack Dale and Janet Burton; sisters-in-law, Phyllis Dale, Betty Dale and Gayle Dale; and brother-in-law: Kent Burton.

A special thank you to The Keystones of Cedar Rapids, Terrace Glen Village, and Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy.

Memorials may be directed to Anne Lala, 3003 Q Ave. NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405, for a memorial fund at St. Jude Children's Hospital in memory of Laurie Dale who passed away at age six from leukemia.

Please share a memory of Bill at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.