William "Bill" E. Mitchell

William “Bill” E. Mitchell, 87, of Galesburg, died peacefully with his family by his side, at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at Rosewood Care Center, Galesburg. Bill was born February 28, 1929 in Avon, the son of Julian A. and Marguerite L. Fitzsimmons Mitchell. He married Phyllis J. Quimby on October 5, 1950 in Galesburg. Bill leaves to cherish fond memories of a large family, his wife of 66 years, Phyllis of Galesburg; two daughters, Cheryl Mitchell and Nancy (Charlie Willis) Mitchell both of Galesburg; two brothers, Robert (Stephen Kranick) Mitchell of Long Beach, CA and John (Janet) Mitchell of Galesburg; three sisters, Eloise (Ken) Fransen of Orion, Patricia Koons of Oceanside, CA, and Carol Ritter of Morton; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers; and three sisters. Bill attended St. Joseph’s Academy and Corpus Christi Lyceum and graduated in 1947. He worked for the Maytag Corp, Gates Rubber Co, and was self employed with Mobil Oil for several years. He was also employed at various gas stations including Conoco Oil Corp owned by his father in law. After retirement, Bill worked for several years for Option Care. Bill served in the US Army in Korea form January 9, 1951 to October 8, 1952, earning the Purple Heart. He was honored to have received the opportunity to be a member of Honor Flight #27 of the Quad Cities on June 2, 2015. He was a member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus Council 556, where his family earned family of the year in 1997. Bill was also a member of St. Vincent DePaul and was active in Right to Life. While living at Lake Bracken, Bill served on the board of directors. He earned the Mobil Oil Corporation Merit Award for cordial business relations in 1977. The rosary will be prayed at 12:35 p.m. Friday, October 21, 2016 at Corpus Christi Church. The funeral mass will follow at 1 p.m. Rev. William T. Miller, IC will officiate. There will be no visitation. Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery with military rites by Post 2257/285 Honor Guard. Memorials may be made to the Honor Flight of the Quad Cities 4130 Northwest Blvd, Davenport, IA 52806 or to Corpus Christi Church.