William "Bill" Earl Quigley

William “Bill” Earl Quigley, age 92, of Ottawa, Illinois passed away Saturday, February 9, 2019.  He was born January 26, 1927 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  His life started as an orphan.  He was later adopted by loving parents during the Depression.  He went to school in Indiana and was starting his second year at Purdue when he was drafted in the Army during the Korean War.  He married Joan Louise Deputy on June 29, 1951, at the Chapel of Camp Gordon, Augusta, Georgia and had celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary last June.

After the service, Bill spent his career working for AT&T as a supervising engineer and was a member of the Communications Workers of America.  He was transferred and promoted to the Chicago area and upon his retirement moved to Ottawa.  He did volunteer work at homeless shelters and served on the Ottawa Planning Commission.  He enjoyed electronics and building radios, stereos, and the family’s first color TV.  He was an avid chess player and loved to read.  He was a fanatical Indianapolis 500 race fan and could be found for over 60 years at the track every May with his checkered socks on and his stopwatches going.  He was preceded in death by his parents William E. (1952) and Lillian I. (1934) Quigley, his sister, Barbara Quigley (1998), and his son, Daniel P. Quigley (2017).  He is survived by his wife, Joan; his daughters, Chris (Rex) Benson and Linda Quigley; daughter in-law, Betty Quigley; son, Michael (Barbara) Quigley; 6 grandchildren, Stephanie and Nicholas Benson, Christopher (Lindsay) Quigley, Alyson Quigley, Meghan Kluth, and Gwen Quigley; and two great-grandchildren, Lily and Will Quigley.

Memorial services will be held at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 14, 2019 at Gladfelter-Roetker Funeral Home in Ottawa, IL with Pastor David Ufkes officiating.  Prior to the services, a visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. till 7:00 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.  Burial will be a private ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to PAWS in honor of his love for 4-legged orphans, including Missy I, Missy II, and Missy III.