William A. "Bill" Newkirk

William A. "Bill" Newkirk, age 94, Korean War U.S. Air Force veteran, a resident of Naperville, IL since 1977, formerly of Hillside, IL, passed away on Sunday, August 17, 2025, at Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville. He was born on February 28, 1931, in Decatur, IL.

Beloved husband of the late Mary J. Newkirk (nee Egan), whom he married May 28, 1955, and who preceded him in death on February 6, 2003. After Mary's passing, Bill met and became long-time companion of Joan Guderian, who passed away in 2020. Loving father of Terrence (Lynn) Newkirk, James (Beth) Newkirk, Julie (Tom) Chivari and Edward (Carrie) Newkirk, adored grandfather of Robert (Jillian) Newkirk, Daniel (Lauren) Newkirk and Genevieve (Benjamin) Madden; Grant, the late Erin and the late Steven Newkirk; John "Jack" Chivari, Matthew (Ashley) Chivari and Lauren (Christopher) Scotti; Brady and Maria Newkirk, devoted son of the late William and Dora (nee Allen) Newkirk, son-in-law of the late Frank and Anne Egan, dear brother of the late Ovelia (the late LeeRoy) Sheffield, fond brother-in-law, uncle, great-uncle, great-great uncle and friend to many.

Bill was born at his Grandparents' Allen home in Decatur, Illinois, during the Great Depression. The house was unique because it also doubled as a grocery store. His first memory was climbing on a flower box, which fell over when he was four years old and broke his nose. Bill also remembers having to use boiling water to get the pump working in cold winters.

Bill attended a one-room school in the Decatur area and had the same teacher for all eight years. One year she would teach first, third, fifth, and seventh grade. The following year, she would teach second, fourth, sixth, and eighth grades. Bill was only five when he started first grade. This was a disadvantage because he was always the smallest and youngest in the class.

Bill was only sixteen throughout most of his senior year in high school, and he had a great interest in science and math. While he was in school, he often spent his Saturdays in his father's shop. His dad was an electrician, and people would bring in electrical appliances for repair. Bill enjoyed troubleshooting appliances and making necessary repairs.

After he graduated from high school, there was no money for college. In 1948, Bill enlisted in the United States Air Force at the age of seventeen. After basic training in Wichita Falls, Texas, he was deployed to Rantoul, Illinois, and trained in aircraft instrument maintenance. From there, he made his way to Okinawa during the Korean War and spent two years performing instrument maintenance on B-29 bombers. He eventually achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant before being honorably discharged in 1951. He began his civilian career as a Field Instrument Analyst for Taylor Instrument Company at their Chicago branch office. In August 1954, he met his wife, Mary, while working at Taylor. By December, they were engaged and married in May 1955. After a series of moves, they purchased their first home in Hillside, IL.

At Taylor, Bill worked a large territory that covered from North Dakota to Michigan throughout the upper Midwest. After ten years, he was promoted to Sales Engineer. Bill believed in continuous education, and while working full-time, attended classes at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

In 1966, he was offered a better opportunity as a Senior Instrument Engineer for Corn Products and was designing process control systems for grinding corn. Bill loved his career and spent 30 years at Corn Products before retiring in 1996. During the early years of his retirement, Bill and Mary enjoyed spending time with their family and traveling the world.

In 2003, Bill's beloved wife Mary passed away after 47 years of marriage. They had four children, Terry, Jim, Julie, and Ted, all of whom attended college and achieved successful careers.

After a time of living alone, Bill joined Anew, a support group for widows and widowers. After a year and a half in the group, Bill met Joan Guderian. They began dating shortly thereafter and remained together as best friends and companions for the next 15 years, until Joan's passing in April of 2020.

Bill enjoyed traveling, reading, visiting family, woodworking, and his beloved St Louis Cardinals.

A visitation will be held on Sunday, August 24, 2025, 1:00-5:00 PM at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville, IL 60540.

Services will begin Monday, August 25, 9:00 AM from the funeral home and will proceed to a 10:00 AM Mass of Christian Burial at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 2220 Lisson Rd., Naperville, IL 60565. Military honors will be accorded after the funeral mass.

A luncheon reception will follow at the church

Family and friends will meet Monday, 2:30 PM at the office in All Saints Cemetery, 700 N. River Rd., Des Plaines, IL 60016, (847) 298-0450 for committal services.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill's memory may be made to: Camp One Step by Children's Oncology Services, Inc., 213 W. Institute Place, Suite 410, Chicago, IL 60610, (312) 924-4220, https://camponestep.org/

For more information, please visit www.friedrich-jones.com or call (630) 355-0213.