William Francis Jacobs

William Francis Jacobs, born in Peoria, Illinois on March 20, 1926, died on Saturday, March 28, 2015, 8 days after his 89th birthday, at his home in Bartow, Florida. He graduated from Spalding Institute in 1944. He attended Bradley Polytechnic Institute briefly before serving in the Army from 1944-1946. He received the Purple Heart for an injury on the battlefield in Germany. He married Jeanne M. Coddington in Peoria, Illinois on February 5, 1949. She preceded him in death in 2003.

Mr. Jacobs worked for Royal Crown Cola bottlers and Squirt bottlers in Peoria, and American Distilling in Pekin. He later worked for Hiram Walkers and was transferred to Fort Smith, Arkansas in the early 1980’s. He retired from Hiram Walkers in 1991 and moved to Bartow, Florida in 2004.

He is survived by his four children, Don (Chris) of Washington, Illinois, Steve (Norma) of Pekin, Illinois, Teresa Savage (Art) of Naperville, Illinois, and Bonnie Smith (Danny) of Bartow, Florida; six grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren; three sisters, Mary Colgan, Barbara Ward, and Christine Toleno, and two brothers, Don Jacobs and Tom (Pete) Jacobs.

Graveside services will be held 1:00pm Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at the Fort Smith National Cemetery Pavilion, with military honors. The family will visit with friends at Edwards Funeral Home from 11:30 to 12:30pm before the graveside service. Services are under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home. Memorials can be sent to the Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, 2590 Havendale Road, Winter Haven, Florida 33881, or to the charity of the donor’s choice. To sign an online guestbook, visit www.edwardsfuneralhome.com.