William H. "Bill" Bledsoe

LABELLE, Mo. -- William Henry "Bill" Bledsoe, 89, formerly of LaBelle and Quincy, Ill., died Sept. 1, 2013, in the Family Life Memory Care facility in Nampa, Idaho, surrounded by his children.

Born Oct. 19, 1923, in Kennett, he was a son of Flossie Mae Matthews and William Thomas Bledsoe.

He married Hazel Louise Bishop, Aug. 7, 1948, in Marion, Ark. They were the parents of three daughters and a foster-daughter. He married Bonnie Tomlinson in April, 1981, in Quincy. She died Dec. 15, 2004.

Mr. Bledsoe was a former newspaper publisher and printer. He and his wife, Hazel, owned and operated the LaBelle Star in LaBelle from 1962 until 1979, when he sold his interest in the newspaper to Hazel Bledsoe Smith and moved to Quincy, where he was employed as a printer.

A veteran of World War II, he served in the South Pacific as a radar operator.

A graduate of Bragg City High School in Bragg City, he attended Arkansas State College in Jonesboro, Ark., and was a graduate of Southern Baptist College (now Williams University) in Walnut Ridge, Ark., where he majored in journalism.

He is survived by his daughters, Deborah (Dan) Gardner of Honolulu, Hawaii; Barbara (Roy) Rodenhiser of Nampa, Idaho; Kathy (Bruce) Primm of Granby, Conn.; a foster daughter, Brenda (Brooks) Bohrer of Turlock, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Bonya Tomlinson of Coatsburg, Ill.; eight grandchildren; one great-grandson; a brother, Charlie Bledsoe of Paragould, Ark.; and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Victor, Emmanuel and Harold Bledsoe; and a sister, Carrie Jane Corbin.

SERVICES: A private family service was held.