William Hayward

WILLIAM HAYWARD

Cedar Rapids

William Herbert Hayward, 97, of Cedar Rapids, died Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, at Northbrook Manor Care Center, Cedar Rapids. A gathering of family and friends will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids. Burial will be at a later date at West Grove Cemetery, Portland, Ind.

Survivors include his sons, William Harvey (Rosalee) Hayward of Lafayette, Ind., Gerald (Janice) Hayward of Charleston, S.C., and Kenneth (Steve) Hayward of Marion; sisters-in-law, Beverly Steffen of Fresno, Calif., and Marga Hayward of O'Fallon, Ill.; 10 grand-children; and 10 great-grandchildren.

William was born June 5, 1917, in Morocco, Ind., the son of Moses and Geneva (Cressy) Hayward. During high school he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and went to work digging irrigation ditches to help support his family. This service led him to join the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he served in World War II during the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI), earning an honorable discharge as a technical sergeant.

On April 7, 1946, he married Wanda Engle in Kendallville, Ind. After his military service, William worked in manufacturing jobs, most notably on the assembly line at the Studebaker plant in South Bend, Ind. He then worked many years as a custodian for the South Bend and Indianapolis public school systems, retiring in 1980.

Though retired, he continued to stay busy by joining the amateur archaeology club in Indianapolis which led to a job building dioramas for the Indiana History Museum.

William and Wanda eventually moved to Iowa. She died in 2013. William enjoyed the activities, especially bingo at the care center.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife; two sons, Larry and Curtis; four brothers and a sister.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

Please share your support and love with William's family on his celebration wall at www.stewartbaxter.com under obituaries.