William P. Radtke

1928 - 2017

LTC. WILLIAM P. (BILL) RADTKE LTC. (Ret) William P. Radtke (Bill) of Lawrence, KS, died Wednesday, August 16, 2017. Bill was preceded in death by wife, Joyce, and son, Richard. He is survived by four children, Paul Radtke of Leawood, KS, Terry LaCandia of Naperville, IL, John Radtke of San Francisco, CA and Ann Curry of Anchorage, AK. Bill also has 10 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Bill was the youngest son of Roderick and Florence Morgan and was born on July 3, 1928, in Columbiana, OH. Both of his parents died when he was still a small child. However, his father's best friend, Paul Radtke and his wife, Lilian, adopted Bill when he was 6 years old. Bill grew up on Lake Milton, OH, and married Joyce Williams in August of 1951. They were married for 64 years before her passing two years ago. Bill attended Virginia Tech and later received his BA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He was a dedicated career military man who spent the bulk of his 30 plus years in U.S. Army Special Forces. Bill and Joyce traveled extensively during his military career to Panama, North Carolina, Georgia, California, Okinawa, Thailand, Illinois and Kansas. In addition to these stops, Bill served multiple tours in Vietnam and Cambodia. After retirement Bill became a member of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church of Lawrence and active in Lions Club, Masons and The Special Forces Association. Memorial service will be 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at The Smith Center of Brandon Woods Community, 4730 Brandon Woods Terrace, Lawrence, KS. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to Black Diamond Charities in Bill's memory. Black Diamond Charities is a non-profit organization that helps veterans successfully transition to civilian life. www.blackdiamondcharities.org or may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 West 13th St., Lawrence, KS 66044. Online condolences may be posted at warrenmcelwain.com