William Whipple

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, June 11, 2016 at the Edwards Funeral Home, 221 East Main St. in Arcola, IL. Pastor Steven Stern will officiate. Visitation will be held one hour before the funeral at the funeral home. Burial with military rites conducted by the Arcola VFW and the Arcola American Legion will be in the Arcola Cemetery.

Neil was born on April 27, 1923 in Arcola, IL. He was a son of W.E. and Zelda E. (Evans) Whipple. He married Wanda Lorraine Rayburn on September 26, 1942 in Arcola.

He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Wanda Whipple, of Garland, TX; two children Doug Whipple and his wife Pam of Arcola, IL and Sherry Pope and her husband, Mike of Garland, TX; four grandchildren, Justin Whipple and his wife Mylisa of Pacific, MO, Derek Pope and Daren Pope both of Austin, TX, three great-grandchildren Darian Whipple of Arcola, IL, Henry Whipple and soon-to-be Baby Girl Whipple of Pacific, MO, one sister, Vera Lutz of Tuscola, IL and two nephews, Dale Lutz of St. Paul, MN and Will Lutz of Arcola, IL.

He was preceded in death by one infant son, Michael Ray Whipple and one grandson, Jeffrey Neil Whipple.

On February 2, 1943, Mr. Whipple was inducted into the Army. He served three years in WWII with the rank of Staff Sargent as an Anti-Aircraft Fire Control Electrician. He traveled the world by ship including seven months in the South Pacific and the Army of Occupation of Japan. Mr. Whipple was honorably discharged with a Good Conduct Medal in February 1946.

Upon return to the States, Mr. Whipple worked several jobs including passenger train brakeman before joining his father to farm seed corn and soy beans. Farming was his occupation for 40 years before retiring in 1996 to Phoenix, AZ. He relocated to Garland, TX, in 2003 where he resided until his death.

In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to any Veteran’s organization of your choice.