Emperley, William "Del" 1921-2007

EMPERLEY, JOHNSON, RAYL, SCHILLING, COOPER, CLIFTON, KOGER, TROTTER, HARLOW

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 7/2/2011 at 10:25:28

Smith Funeral Home On-line Obituaries (Grinnell, IA)

WILLIAM EMPERLEY

William "Del" Emperley, 86, of Grinnell and formerly of Newton, died on Thursday, May 17, 2007, in the Monarch Wing of Skiff Medical Center in Newton. A funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m., Monday, at the First Baptist Church in Grinnell with the Rev. Tim Stewart officiating. Organist will be Denise Baustian. Pallbearers will be Tony Schilling, Jim Plumb, Joel Clifton, Larry and David Cooper, and Stephanie Emperley. Honorary bearers will be Dennis Burnette, Roger Schilling, Jason Trotter, Dennis, Roger and Bill Emperley, Kim Cooper, Jason and Jeff Dickerson, Jeremy Coleman, and John and Troy Harlow. Burial will be in Rock Creek Cemetery near Grinnell. Memorials may be directed to the Kellogg Historical Museum. Friends may call at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell beginning 12 noon on Sunday and where the family will be present from 2:00 to 4:00 Sunday afternoon. The son of William R. and Cora Johnson Emperley, he was born March 22, 1921, in Sedan, Iowa. He later moved to Kellogg and was a 1940 graduate of Kellogg High School. He was a veteran of the United States Army during World War II. Del began working for Maytag Corporation in 1949 and was a dedicated employee there for 35 years. He retired in 1984 as superintendent of tooling. He lived most of his life in Newton and for several years at Rock Creek Lake. He was a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows, Rebekah's, American Legion, Maytag Management Club, and the Grinnell First Baptist Church. On May 11, 1993, he was married to *Mary Koger Rayl, in Gravois Mills, Missouri. The couple lived in Newton prior to moving to Grinnell in 1999. Survivors include his wife, Mary of Grinnell; two children, Karen Schilling of Kennesaw, Georgia and Dennis Emperley of Morganton, North Carolina; five step-children, Sandra Cooper and Tom Clifton of Grinnell, John Koger of Omaha, Kathy Trotter of Newton, and Susan Harlow of Pearl, Mississippi; one brother, Doyle Emperley of Clovis, New Mexico; four grandchildren; fourteen step grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and twelve step great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; and one step granddaughter, Teresa Ann Cooper.

Transcriber Note: *Mary Rayl Koger