November 14, 2024
Sauk Valley
Wedding Expo NewsletterThank You | Sauk ValleyHome & Garden NewsletterMorning Update | Sauk ValleyA&E | Sauk ValleyArchive | Sauk ValleyCommunityCoronavirus | Sauk ValleyElection | Sauk ValleyMarketing | Sauk ValleyNews - Sauk ValleyOnline NewspaperSauk Valley OpinionPhoto Galleries | Sauk ValleyPremium | Sauk ValleySauk Valley Prep SportsSponsored | Sauk Valley NewsSports - Sauk Valley
Sauk Valley

Wilson “Bill” Wilfred Bull

0

MORRISON – Wilson “Bill” Wilfred Bull, 90, died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010, at home.

W.W. “Bill” was born Nov. 2, 1920, in Morrison, to Rinette (Abel) Bull and James A. Bull. He attended Morrison schools, played football, and worked at the Ice Box. During World War II, he served in the Navy as warrant officer. After the war, he returned to Morrison to join his father at J.A. Bull and Son in Union Grove.

He married Dorcas “Diki” Knapp of Westfield, Iowa, on April 16, 1948. From 1953 to 1977, W.W. served as second ward alderman, then as mayor, for the city of Morrison. He joined the Rotary Club in 1965, and recently was named one of its Paul Harris Fellows. He was a member of Morrison Friends of the Park, and volunteered as a Project VITAL tutor in adult literacy. In 1969, he was inducted as moderator of the Illinois Synod of the Presbyterian Church. He was a board member of the Illinois John Howard Association for prison reform, and served on the Northrup King Seed Advisory Board. He was a member of the American Veterans Committee, Morrison Masonic Lodge, and American Humanist Association.

W.W. directed “South Pacific” and “Blithe Spirit” for the Morrison Music Theater Association, and played Jud Fry in “Oklahoma,” and Pawnee Bill in “Annie Get Your Gun.” An avid golf and tennis player, he was a member of the Morrison Country Club Lincoln Highway Tournament team. Bill was known for his humor and open-mindedness. He cared about reading, discussion, family, friends, affairs of the world, and human rights. He was a lifelong liberal Democrat.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Dorcas Knapp Bull; six children, Cynthia (Ron) Tisue of Cincinnati, Katharine (Sarah Harder) Bull of Medford, Mass., Christopher (Marijoan) Bull of Rehoboth, Mass., Sarah Bull of Morrison, John “Tony” Bull of Gambier, Ohio, and Keith (Catherine) Bull of Highland Park, N.J.; 16 grandchildren; and his brother, Robert C. Bull.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, James A. Bull Jr.; and one grandson, Aaron Thomas Vegter.

Memorials may be made to Odell Public Library, Morrison, or to the Project VITAL program of Sauk Valley Community College.

He bequeathed his body to the medical school at the University of Iowa.

Arrangements for a community remembrance are pending with McDonald Funeral Home, Fulton, IL. Visit mcdonaldfuneralhomes.com to send condolences.