William J. Wilbers

William (Bill) Wilbers, 82, of Wardsville passed away May 21, 2025. Bill was born June 22, 1942, in Wardsville, Missouri. The son of Edward and Dora Wilbers, Bill was their 12th child, there were 7 boys and 5 girls, all who have passed away before him. Bill married the love of his life on July 3, 1965, Marilyn Braun of Osage Bend. They had 4 boys, Dale Wilbers (Keely) of Wardsville, Brian (Lisa) of Wardsville, Darrell (Vicki) of Taos, Roger Wilbers, deceased (Loree) of St. Thomas.
He began his working career at 16 years old with Western Union Telegraph, then Obermans Pants Factory (until they went out of business). Next, he worked for Von Hoffman Book Factory and in 1962 he started working for David Wilbers Floor Covering for 42 years, retiring in 2004. Bill enjoyed hunting, a lot. As a boy he hunted mostly for food purposes. He passed on the love of hunting and fishing to his boys. He spent a lot of time with his boys fishing and hunting (deer, rabbit, squirrels, mushrooms) on his farm. He also enjoyed many hunting trips to Colorado, hunting deer and elk - he liked it so much that one of his sons was born while he was away. Bill liked his occasional glass of wine, especially when sitting with his wife in their second home on the Osage river.
He loved his time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, especially sitting on his lap watching Tom and Jerry. He had twelve grandchildren, and twenty-one great grandchildren and one on the way. Grandchildren are: Brittney (Brandon) Ransom, Josh Wilbers, Mikaela (Cody) Hill, Charlie (Gabe) Wilbers, Cole Wilbers, Kaitlyn (David) Scheppers, Staci (Derick) Niekamp, Kim (Alex) Schulte, Ryan (Jayme) Wilbers, and Macyn (Anthony) Hansen, Kortney Curtman and Alisha (Tiffany) Curtman.
Friends and family will be received from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 23, 2025, at Houser-Millard Funeral Directors. Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, 2025, at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Wardsville, Missouri, with the Very Rev. Christopher L. Cordes as celebrant. Entombment will follow at St. Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery.
Arrangements are under the direction of HOUSER-MILLARD Funeral Directors, 2613 W. Main St., Jefferson City, MO 65109. (573) 636-3838. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.millardfamilychapels.com