William Joseph "Sonny" Greenwell

William "Sonny" Joseph Greenwell, 89, of Evansville, Indiana, passed away Monday, August 11, 2025 at his home.
Sonny was born in Evansville, Indiana on November 15, 1935 to the late Robert and Mary (Johnson) Greenwell. In his younger years, Sonny farmed and worked for Princeton Beauty Supply in shipping and receiving. Sonny was a painter at Deaconess for 10 years and had his own painting business for 2 years. He went on to work for Holiday Care Center (Heritage Center) for over 18 years until his retirement. Sonny was an outdoorsman. He enjoyed camping on the Ohio and Wabash Rivers, deer and squirrel hunting, and gardening. Above all, he loved spending time with his family. He will be remembered as a loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great grandfather, and brother.
Sonny is survived by his daughter, Teresa Schaffer of Evansville, IN; sons, Richard Greenwell (Genia) of Stewartsville, IN and Tony Greenwell of Evansville, IN; brother, David Greenwell of Evansville, IN; several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, Sonny was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Violet (Kohlmeyer) Greenwell; sons, Steven Greenwell and David Greenwell; sisters, Dorothy Wargel, Wanda Robertson and Betty Walden; and brothers, Michael Greenwell and Fred Greenwell.
A celebration of Sonny's life will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, August 16, 2025 at Browning Funeral Home, 738 Diamond Ave., Evansville, IN 47711, with Pastor Ted Totsch officiating. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.
Friends may visit from 2:00 pm until 7:00 pm on Friday, August 15, 2025 at Browning Funeral Home and again from 9:00 am until service time on Saturday.
Tribute Story
Willaim "Sonny" Josseph Greenwell lived his life to the fullest. With a fondness for the land and farming, Sonny loved nature, animals and God's earth. Sonny was a loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great grandfather and brother. He was a strong man with determination, courage and hard work. As we gather to honor Sonny, let us remember his strength, his kindness and his love.
Born in Evansville, Indiana, the son of Robert and Mary (Johnson) Greenwell, Sonny had three sisters, Dorothy, Betty known as "Tootie," and Wanda and three brothers, Mike, David and Fred. Sonny grew up with his parents and all his sisters and brothers. After 8th grade, Sonny worked on a farm in Mt. Vernon. Sonny learned about hard work. He began to love the outdoors, nature, animals and farm life. Sonny liked playing cards with his sisters and brothers. They enjoyed playing clabber, rummy and poker. On holidays, after they all grew up, after the delicious holiday dinner, Sonny and his brothers and sisters played cards.
Sonny began his working career as a painter for Deaconess Hospital, working there 10 years. He owned his own paint company for two years. After his painting career, Sonny began his work at Holiday Care Center (Heritage Center). Sonny worked for Holiday retiring at the age of 65 in 1989 after 18 years of service.
While driving with friends as a young man, Sonny and his group of guys met some girls riding on their bicycles. Sonny met Violet Kohlmeyer who was one of the girls on her bicycle. Violet said, "I just met the boy I'm going to marry." Violet and Sonny began a friendship that blossomed into romance. Violet and Sonny married on June 22, 1957, at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church with Father Moll officiating. Violet became Catholic so they could marry in Sonny's church. Violet was a lovely lady who won three beauty contests. Her wedding picture was displayed in the Evansville Store for years because she was the winning bride in the beauty contest.
Violet and Sonny celebrated as they welcomed their children, one daughter, Teresa and four sons, Richard, Tony, David and Steven. As the children grew up, Sonny and Violet took them on many, many camping adventures. They camped on the Wabash River, and later on the Ohio River by Hovey Lake. The family enjoyed picking up and collecting shells on the sand bar out on the Ohio River. At the camp, the family loved to play and toss washers. The family camped almost every weekend. Sonny had the "best of times" camping with his family.
Sonny liked to hunt racoons on the Wabash River. Sonny received a few trophies for his "coon" hunting, and he was proud to receive these honors. He hunted with a Bluetick Coonhound and caught many coons. Sonny went squirrel hunting and loved that too. One time he shot a deer, it was a 12 pointer, and the family had it stuffed and kept it for many, many years. The children shared that Sonny caught these animals, and they all ate coon, squirrel and deer. At the camp they would grill pig and mutton and once a groundhog.
Violet and Sonny moved out to Big Cynthiana Road in 1975. This home was Violet's grandmother's home on 23 acres. Sonny was so happy to be out in the country with many animals. There were pigs, chickens and a goat named Benson. These were fun times, out in the country surrounded by animals and nature. Sonny and Violet had a big garden filled with vegetables.
Whenever Sonny was inside, relaxing, he liked watching NASCAR. Dale Earnhart was his favorite driver. Sonny liked to play cards for much of his life. When alone, he enjoyed a game of solitaire. He liked listening to country music. When the family had a gathering, Sonny was the griller of meat for his family. Coconut was his favorite. Sonny loved-coconut cream pie and coconut cake. He was a meat and potatoes type of guy, who loved the dressing served at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sonny liked watching old westerns on TV and listening to country music.
Talented with his hands, Sonny worked with wood and had a wooden leigh tool. He created a butter churn, a coffee grinder, a little rocking chair for Raggedy Ann and Andy and beautiful wooden candle holders. Sonny was, as his family, said, "a Jack of all Trades," he could build anything that might be needed around the house.
As the years passed Sonny and Violet welcomed their grandchildren, then their great-grandchildren and even several great-great grandchildren. He loved these little ones and tried to play with them whenever they came over to see Memaw and Papaw. Sonny was very excited when one of the great-great-grandsons was named Sonny.
With his brother David, in David's camper, Violet and Sonny traveled on a big trip. They visited Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and many more interesting western states. This was a wonderful trip filled with lots of laughter and memories.
Sonny loved the holidays when all his family would gather. He liked birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. The 4th of July was also a special time for the family to gather. Homemade ice cream and fireworks made this gathering fun. At family reunions on the Johnson side, in Mt. Vernon, sometimes there were 96 people gathered.
Growing up on the farm and being in the country, Sonny loved animals, dogs were very special to him. He was not particularly fond of cats. Sonny was a quiet guy, who enjoyed his quiet times. He was kind of a loner, who enjoyed camping and gardening. He was a hard worker who went almost 30 years without missing work. He was a good provider for his wife and children.
Sonny spoke his mind and told what he believed. He was a man who had faith in God. When Violet, his dear and loving wife of 65 years passed away in 2023, Sonny missed her terribly. With courage and determination Sonny kept on going. Teresa came to live with Sonny in June. She knew he was tough and a fighter. Teresa and her brothers took care of Sonny. They made his life so much better by being near and helping Sonny.
He never complained and never had a headache. Only recently he suffered from backache, but he did not complain. Sonny was in Hospice, but tried not to use anyone's help, he liked to do things on his own. He was strong-willed and still had his mind and knew his family. Sonny fought his illness with courage and strength. He passed away on August 11, 2025, at home at the age of 89. He will be dearly missed by all those who knew and loved him. As we gather to celebrate Sonny's life, let us remember and keep in our hearts, Sonny's hard work, his love for animals and the outdoors, and his devotion to his family.