Bill was a thirty-year United States Air Force veteran, where he earned the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. He received an Associates Degree in Technology from Fort Steilacoom Community College in Washington state in 1976.
He was interested in aircraft from a young age which led him to join the Air Force at the age of 18. He married Audrey Lee Kinchen in 1962 and went on to have three children, Karin, Todd and Christine. His service took him and his family to California, Japan, Florida, North Carolina, Washington, Illinois, and Louisiana. Following his retirement from the Air Force in 1987, he had a second career at Dyncorp in Melbourne, FL from 1991 to 2001, where he continued to repair airplanes and helicopters for the Department of State traveling to several Central and South American countries. Following this retirement, he and Audrey were persuaded to leave the heat and move to Louisville, Kentucky in 2001.
He could fix anything that needed fixing, including hairdryers, antique and modern sewing machines, clocks, airplanes, and helicopters. He loved to make vegetable soup and blueberry muffins. He disliked tuna casserole and the frequency with which his wife made tuna casserole early on in their marriage. He liked taking his family on adventures in their camper van around Washington state. He enjoyed fishing and hunting with his brother and playing golf. He was a parishioner at St. Albert the Great Church.
Bill is survived by his wife of 62 years, Audrey Shumate, their children: Karin Sonnier and husband Dr. George Sonnier, Todd Shumate and wife Carrie, and Christine Ritner; his brother, Bobby Shumate and wife Jenny; and his many grandchildren, Hannah and her husband Matthew, Samuel, Wyatt, Sophia, Olivia, and Genevieve.
A memorial service will be held at 3pm on Saturday, July 6th in the chapel of Arch L. Heady & Son at Westport village. Guests are invited to attend a visitation after 1PM the day of the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Disabled American Veterans at www.DAV.org.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.11.1