William G. "Bill" McMichael, Jr. Obituary (1928 - 2016)

William Bill McMichael, Jr., 87, of Normal, died at 1:21 a.m., Sunday, Jan 17 at home surrounded by family.Per Bills wishes, cremation rites were accorded. A Memorial Service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday February 13, 2016 at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, 1510 North Main Street, Normal, with Rev. Jeffrey Henricks officiating.Memorials may be made be made to the Iowa Lions Eye Bank, University of Iowa BioVenture Center, 2500 Crosspark Road, W300, Coralville, IA 52241, or to the Central Illinois Memorial Kidney Fund, P.O. Box 235, Morton, IL 61550.Bill was born in June of 1928 to William and Hilda Mc Michael and raised in Philadelphia, PA.He is survived by his wife Philomena Mc Michael. They would have celebrated 61 years of marriage on Feb. 6, 2016. He is also survived by his daughter and son-in-law Linda and Richard Papuga, son and daughter-in-law William and Kimberly Mc Michael, grandson Ross Papuga and step-granddaughter, Jessica (Chris) Hall, brother-in-law Thomas Reier, several nieces and nephews, good friend John Shumaker, and grand-dog Mashpee.He was preceded in death by his twin sister Elsie age 2 , his sisters and brothers-in-laws, Doris (Al) Orthaus and Edith (Ed) Wheaton.Bill graduated from Drexel Institute of Technology in 1952. He served in the U.S. Army for two years before beginning his career at General Electric. He retired in 1989 as Manager of Power Devices. He then worked for the IRS Distribution Center in Bloomington for ten years. Bill was a member of and 1963 President of the ISPE. He was also a lifetime member of the Masons. In his retirement he enjoyed fixing things, family gatherings and day trips, biking and walking Constitution Trail with Phil, golfing with his good friend John and his love for Boston Terriers. Bill was also happy to serve as Block Captain for Neighborhood Watch for several years.Bills dedication to his family was immeasurable and no words can describe our loss. We have faith in our Lord that our tears will turn to laughter when we meet again in heaven. Until then Bill will always be our chickie-legs, our silver, our Dad our Grandpa and especially moms Hon!The family wishes to thank Dr. Bruha and Dads special angels Jeanette and Lori for their compassionate care.