William “Bill” Robert Lounsberry (1943-2011)

LOUNSBERRY, WAGENBRENNER, RUMPH, KING

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 8/19/2012 at 10:35:48

From The Lonsbury Tree Family Newsletter #52 Spring/Summer 2011:

WILLIAM “BILL” ROBERT LOUNSBERRY, 67, Sept. 28, 1943-Jan. 21, 2011 formerly of McCallsburg, died in Seattle, Wash., on Jan. 21, following a brief and valiant battle with cancer.

He was the eldest of five children, born on Sept. 28, 1943, to Robert H. and Muriel C.
Lounsberry. He graduated from NESCO High School in 1961 and went on to earn a bachelor’s
degree in agronomy from Iowa State University.

He served during the Vietnam War as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed in
both Japan and Hawaii. After his service, he remained in Hawaii for 15 years where he was a real estate broker and a bank loan officer before returning to the Midwest.

He then spent time working on the family farm in his beloved Story County, and finished
his working years in the transportation industry. Retirement took him to Seattle, Wash., to serve
in his new role as “Papa” to his grandchildren.
His family and friends will remember him as a kind, gentle and genuine man who loved the country scenery of his Iowa home. He was filled with curiosity about the possibilities of science, was easily convinced to play a board game, and young children always could spark a twinkle in his eye.

He is survived by his daughter, Melissa Wagenbrenner, and her husband, Andrew, along with two grandchildren, Amelia (age 2) and William (age 6 weeks), who currently reside in Seattle, Wash. He is also survived by four siblings:
Beth Rumph, of Plano, Texas; Janet (Peter) King of Cedar Rapids; Paul Lounsberry, of Baton Rouge, La.; and Steven (Linda) Lounsberry of Cedar Rapids, plus many loving nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society for the study and cure of esophageal cancer.