William Jack Webb Jr.

William J. Webb, Jr. (Bill) was born April 23, 1944 to his parents William J. Webb, Sr. and Helen (Westrich) Webb in St. John's Missouri. He attended Home Heights Grade school and graduated from Ritenour High School in 1963. He was married 3 times. In 1964 he married his high school sweetheart Barbara Shore and together they had 1 daughter, Wendi Jo Webb. In 1968 after he returned from Viet Nam he married Karleene Jackson and they had a daughter, Christa Lynn Webb. In 1975 he married Jean Dickens. They were married in May 1975 and and had two children, Steven Jeffrey Webb and Grace Marie Webb. Bill and Jean were married for 50 years.
After graduating from high school, Bill worked for McDonnell Douglas at the Conductron location in St. Charles until he was drafted into the Army in 1966. He served in Viet Nam and returned home in 1968.
Bill began working in real estate sales at Lake Sherwood Estates in 1970. It was then he discovered he had a gift for selling. He sold real estate for a number of years before selling cars for Kribs Ford in St. Louis. Bill was an exceptional automobile salesman because he loved cars, he never lied to his customers, and he insisted on helping them find the perfect car to fit their needs. As a result, he had more repeat customers than any of the other salesmen in the dealership.
Bill was the ultimate car guy. He loved all cars and over the course of his life, he owned over 60 cars and trucks. However, he was especially fond of muscle cars. He built a 1975 Mustang dragster and spent many hours fine tuning it before racing each weekend at MidAmerica Raceway and Gateway International. He also built a red 1934 3 window Ford Coup and owned a 1963 Galaxie convertible and a 1966 Midnight Blue Mustang. His racing name was Wild Willy Webb and that reflected not only his racing abilities, but his approach to life.
After a series of heart attacks forced Bill into an early retirement, he focused on his passion of restoring and driving his classic cars. He spent countless hours in his garage tweaking and tinkering.
The other passion for Bill was traveling. Bill and Jean traveled to most of the United States and stayed at numerous resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean. Cruising was another pastime that Bill enjoyed. However, his favorite trip and one of the highlights of his life was a 3 week trek through Viet Nam revisiting the places he had been deployed while in the army.
During their travels, Wild Willy Webb managed to create many memorable moments, from crashing into a Koi pond in Mexico, to tipping over a rickshaw in Viet Nam, to crashing into a priceless art treasure on a cruise and many more. Jean shared some of these moments with family and friends.
Closer to home, Bill loved visiting Branson. He loved the warm welcome extended to veterans, the shows, restaurants and scenery of the Ozarks.
A second highlight for Bill was a trip to Washington DC with the St. Louis Honor Flight. His daughter, Christa accompanied him. That trip finally helped Bill feel that his service in Viet Nam was appreciated.
Though not a regular church goer, Bill was a man of faith and had a strong sense of right and wrong. For Bill, there wasn't much gray area. It was either right or wrong, and he wasn't afraid to let you know his opinion of what was right. He often spoke up when others were silent. He and Jean were founding members of New life Church in Washington, MO. It was Bill who insisted on a whirlwind road trip to Iowa to pick up chairs for the sanctuary.
If you spent any time around Bill, you would see how the name Wild Willy Webb fit him perfectly. Life was never dull around him.
Covid changed everything for Bill. In January of 2020, he was the first Covid patient at the Truman VA hospital in Columbia. After 40 days there, he returned home only to be readmitted with pneumonia several months later. Altogether, Bill had 4 admissions. Each time he amazed the medical team and managed to recover.
Bill's latest admission was for congestive heart failure, but while in the hospital, doctors discovered he had an extremely rare infection in his heart caused by the Norcardia bacteria. There have been only 10 recorded cases world wide EVER of this bacteria settling in a person's heart. No one was surprised that Bill would die from something so unique. He was definitely one of a kind and will be missed and remembered by family and many friends.
Bill is survived by his beloved wife, Jean Webb (nee' Dickens) of Washington; his children, Wendi Jo Roberts (Boyd) of Placerville, CA, Christa Lynn Webb (Paul Karez) of Festus, MO, Steve Webb (Amy Webb) of Union, MO, and Grace Webb Shemonic (Mark) of Union, MO; his grandchildren, Ian Roberts of Placerville, CA, Christopher Taylor of St. Louis, MO, Josh Taylor (significant other Dotohy Ringer) of Festus, MO, Kalynn Taylor (fiance David Kentch) of Festus, MO, Gavin Karez of Festus, MO, Jackson Webb of Union, MO, and Ella Webb of Union, MO; great-grandchildren, Gage Taylor of St. Louis, MO, Brynlee Rae Kentch of Festus, MO; step-great-grandchild, Kensleah Kentch; along with other relatives and many dear friends.
Bill was a member of the VFW Post 2661 in Washington, MO and New Life Church in Washington, MO. Charitable donations may be made to either organization in his memory.
Visitation for 81-year-old Bill Webb will be held from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Thursday, December 11, 2025 at New Life Church in Washington, MO. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 PM on Thursday, December 11, 2025 at New Life Church followed immediately by full military honors. Burial will be held privately in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.
The Webb family is served by Oltmann Funeral Home in Washington, MO.