William 'Bill' Frese, 22 Jan 1932 - 16 Jan 2022

FRESE, PICKART, DEMEULENAERE, THOMAS, ELLIOTT, HUBER, FULLER, CHEKAL

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 1/20/2022 at 14:10:41

William “Bill” Frese, 89, of Cedar Rapids passed away peacefully on January 16th in his home with his family after a courageous two-year battle with prostate cancer. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday January 21, 2022, at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church. Visitation will be Thursday January 20, 2022, at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home from 4-7 p.m., where a vigil service will begin at 6:00 p.m. Visitation will continue after 9:30 a.m. at the church on Friday. Burial: Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Cedar Rapids, with full Military Honors by VFW Post 788.

Bill was born on January 22, 1932, in Norway, Iowa, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Pickart Frese. He graduated from Norway High School in 1950 and from the Weaver School of Real Estate.

Bill’s main purpose in life was to be a loving husband to his wife, Donna of 62 years, his six children, their spouses and his 16 grandchildren. Each of Bill’s children were very special to him in their own way and he would be there for each of them. Bill’s biggest enjoyment was spending time with family and spending many hours watching both his children and grandchildren playing sports.

Bill served in the Air Force and spent one year in Korea during the Korean War. Bill was proud of his time with the Air Force where he spent four years on active duty and then 36 years on active reserve service for a total of 40 years. Bill retired from the Air Force as a Master Sergeant at the age of 60.

Bill was a member of St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Order of Foresters, Air Force Sergeants Association, Elks Club, Moose Lodge, VFW and the American Legion. Bill loved to travel and visited all 50 states and more than 25 countries, including several visits to Europe. Bill was employed by Cedar Rapids Incorporated for 25 years He was also president of Frese Investment Corporation, which he established in 1969. Bill was in partnership with his wife, Donna, and son, Jeffrey, with the F & F Investment Corporation and WDJ Investment Corporation. Bill tried to get something accomplished each day, which is why he enjoyed buying, selling and managing real estate.

Bill was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather and friend. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

He was married to Donna DeMeulenaere on June 6, 1959 in Victor, Iowa. Surviving is his wife Donna, their six children, Deb, Cindy, Jeffrey (Christy) Frese, Brenda (Mark) Thomas, Marsha (Jason) Elliott, Stacy (Brian) Huber; sixteen grandchildren, Jordan, Justice, Logan, Alex, Hannah, Kylan, Sydney, Shannon, Markus, Tyler, Abby, Will, Tristan, Camden, Lauren, William; sister-in-law Sandy Frese, special family friend Marty Thompson, many loving in-laws: Wayne and Char DeMeulenaere, Roger and Kathy DeMeulenaere, Larry and Linda Fuller and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Frese; brothers Franklin, (wife Betty), Floyd and Ervin, mother and father-in-law Charles and Margaret DeMeulenaere, brother-in-law Donald DeMeulenaere and niece Lorie Chekal.

We would like to thank Mercy Hospice, especially nurse Amy Harris and nurse Laura for all their help with Bill.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Bill’s memory to Hospice of Mercy, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or the American Legion.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.

Published in The Gazette on January 18, 2022.