Charles W. "Bill" Kipfer Sr.

Retired Lt. Col. Charles W. "Bill" Kipfer Sr., age 88, a native of Peoria, Ill., died Friday morning, March 7, 2008, at his new retirement home in Roswell, Ga.
Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 14, 2008, from Asbury United Methodist Church with the Rev. Ray Kelly officiating. Interment will follow with full military honors in the church cemetery, Holman Funeral Home of Ozark directing.
Retired Lt. Col. Kipfer was born March 12, 1920, to the late Charles Issachar Kipfer and Mabel Walske Kipfer. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1942, serving in World War II as well as the Korean War as a fighter pilot. He was stationed in Germany, the Philippines and numerous other locations. While in the service, Charles graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in liberal arts and finance. In 1965 Charles retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery. After his military career he took a position with the FAA, where he worked as a budget analyst until his retirement in 1982. He donated to many charitable causes. He loved golf and bowling, was an avid coin collector, a huge fan of Alabama Crimson Tide Football, and loved crossword puzzles. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Lynne Hughes Kipfer; his brother, James Kipfer; his mother and father-in-law, Effie Mae and Bascom Hughes; and brother and sister-in-law, Duff and Nell Hughes.
Survivors include his sister, Helen Mundie of Omaha, Neb.; daughter and son-in-law, Judy and Chet Yort of Pensacola, Fla.; son and daughter-in-law, Charles Jr. and Patti Kipfer of Woodstock, Ga.; grandchildren, Curtis and Kelly Kipfer, Chris Yort and Kristie Yort; great grand-daughter, Kylie Yort. Numerous nieces and nephews also survive.
Holman Funeral Home of Ozark, (334) 774-5348, is in charge of arrangements. Visit the Holman Funeral Home Web site at www.holmanfuneralhome.com. Sign the guest book at www.dothaneagle.com.