William Lloyd "Willie" Wade

William Lloyd Wade, 80, passed away Tuesday morning August 19, 2025.

Willie, the son of Helen and Tilford Wade, was born in Springfield, Missouri on August 15, 1945. He graduated from Central High School and joined the United States Marine Corps in 1964. He continued in the reserves until 1969 after which, the majority of Willie's work life was spent at McBee Binders as a project estimator and designer.

On October 13, 1973, Willie married the love of his life Karen Gudenkauf, and together, they centered their lives around raising their family, enjoying their grandchildren, and spoiling the many dogs they loved. Camping, canoeing, and puttering on the lake in their fishing boat were the basis of many family hours spent laughing and telling stories around a campfire. Willie's passion for camping, fishing, woodworking, and tinkering with things was a distant second to his devotion and love for his wife, Karen.

Willie and Karen felt very blessed to have been surrounded by a wonderful extended family. They often spoke with pride of their beloved grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Willie was also fortunate and very thankful to have had a close relationship with his brothers, sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law. All of whom he shared many cherished memories over the years.

Willie is preceded in death by his wife, Karen; parents, Helen Scott and Tilford Wade; brother, Winston Wade; sister-in-law, Ann Meese; and nephew, Randy Baker. He is survived by his sons, Carl Wade (Jean), Kurt Wade, and Randy Wade; brothers Weldon Wade and Wendell Wade; sisters-in-law Lynne Baker and Kathleen Bauer; brothers-in-law, John Meese and Vernon Baker; and multiple grandchildren, nieces, nephews, great grandchildren, and great nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, August 29, 2025 in Immaculate Conception Catholic Church with a Funeral Mass beginning at 12:00 a.m. under the care of Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Shepards Fund, an endowment established for Springfield Catholic Schools' teachers at theshepardsfund.com.