Bill Whitsell

William C. Whitsell, the son of John W. and Eva Verlee (Purvis) Whitsell, was born August 10, 1930 in Jefferson, Iowa and departed this life February 25, 2017 at the Greene County Medical Center in Jefferson, Iowa. He lived his life to the age of 86 years, 6 months and 15 days.

Bill grew up in the Grand Junction area and graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1948. Bill served in the U.S. Navy from December of 1951 to October of 1953. After the service, Bill returned to Grand Junction and helped his father on the farm. Later he worked in Ames as a boiler maker. Bill was married and later divorced. One daughter was born to this union. For most of Bill’s working years, he was an over the road semi truck driver. He lived in Denver, Colorado and drove to and from California.

On August 31, 1978, Bill was married to Delores Uselton in Colorado. They made their home in Denver. Bill continued to drive trucks and later drove heavy equipment at a mining operation in northwestern Colorado. After retiring, Bill and Delores operated a self-serve gas station in Greeley, Colorado. They moved to Grand Junction to make their home in the late 1990s. Due to Bill’s health, he was a resident of the Regency Park Care Center in Jefferson for a short time.

Bill was a member of the Church of Christ Church in Jefferson, a Life Member of the V.F.W and a Past Commander in the V.F.W. Bill enjoyed picture and word search puzzles, traveling and seeing the country and to eat, trying out all the cafes. Before his health problems, Bill loved to do wood working, making lots of shelves for Delores to load with pictures and he also made many yard ornaments.

Bill is survived by his wife, Delores; a daughter, Belinda (Kelly) Caldwell of Carroll; step-children: Allen (Jan) Chapman of Highlands Ranch, Colo., Wyatt (Diane) Chapman of Broomfield, Colo., Anita (Joe) Armenta of Sierra Vista, Ariz. and Teresa (Paul) Welston of Fredricksburg, Colo.; and a sister, Dorothy McComb of Iowa Falls, Iowa. Those who preceded him in death were his parents; a brother, Wayne Whitsell and a step-daughter, Maria Chapman.

Graveside services were held at 1:00 p.m. Friday, March 3, 2017, at the Jefferson City Cemetery with Pastor Bruce Webster officiating. Full military honors were conducted by the U.S. Navy Honors Service with assistance from the Jefferson V.F.W. Casket bearers were Allen Chapman, Wyatt Chapman, Kelly Caldwell and Bryan Higgins. Honorary bearer was Gary Higgins.     

The Brown Funeral Home in Jefferson assisted the family.