Ashley, William 1939 - 2017

ASHLEY, PETERSON, FRANKHAUSER, KNOWLES, RISCH, HALLISEY, NELSON, KARRIGAN, BLATTNER, ANDERSON, LUTZ

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 5/5/2017 at 11:48:14

William "Bill" Ashley, age 77 of Cresco, Iowa died Sunday, April 30, 2017 at Mercy Hospital in New Hampton. The funeral service will be 11 A.M. Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at First Lutheran Church in Cresco. Friends may call on Monday from 4 to 7 P.M. at the Lindstrom Funeral Home. On Saturday, May 13 from 1:00 to 3:00 there will be a Celebration of Life in Richfield, MN at House of Prayer Lutheran Church where the Ashleys were long time members. Inurnment will be at the Ft. Snelling Cemetery.

Bill was born July 19, 1939 in Kerkhoven, MN to Howard and Frances (Peterson) Ashley. Bill graduated from Kerkhoven High School in 1957. He joined the Navy after graduation and was there from 1957-1960 where he was a purchasing agent and worked in the Chaplains office; he was stationed in Guam. For seven months he acted as the Protestant Lay Leader for the Command, conducting religious services every Sunday while at sea on the North Atlantic Barrier. Upon returning from the Navy he attended the Minnesota School of Business. Bill was a purchasing agent at Hitchcock Industries in Bloomington, MN for twenty-three years. Following this job, Bill started his own business cleaning houses where he called himself the "Cleaning Guy"; he retired in April of 2014.
The summer of 2006 Bill married Connie Frankhauser Knowles in Richfield, MN. On May 1, 2014 he and Connie moved to their home in Cresco to manage Connie's Century Corner B&B. While living in Cresco, Bill continued enjoying his flower garden. Bill's all time favorite hobby was singing Barbershop and continued to keep up on his love for the Barbershop; Bill was a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society for 42 years. He sang baritone for 37 years in the Minneapolis Commodores and was also a member of the Cross Town Review Quartet.

Bill is survived by his wife Connie Ashley for ten and a half years and by his three daughters: Meredith (Ryan) Risch, Debbie (Tom) Hallisey, and Brenda (Clay) Nelson; five grandchildren: Lexi, Dakota, Karrigan, Johnathan, and Karrah; a step-daughter, Lisa (Mark); six step-grandchildren: Kyle, Alex, Stephanie, Crystal, Travis and Lucas; seven step-great-grandchildren: Lexus, Elijah, Emma, Alivia, Lilly, Aster and Brooke; three siblings: Donna (Bill) Blattner, Barb (Larry) Anderson, and Kenny Ashley and many nieces and nephews. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, a daughter who died in infancy, Ann Marye Ashley, a son, Chad Allen Ashley, and a sister Sue Lutz.

Memorials may be designated to the First Lutheran Church Foundation.

Source: Lindstrom Funeral Home database

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