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William "Bill" Howard Etherton Jr, 82, of Owatonna, died August 28, 2015 at Koda Living Community. Bill was born April 2, 1933 in Owatonna the son of William H. Sr. and Bessie Rose (Westlund) Etherton.
He attended and graduated from Owatonna Public Schools in 1951. He was President of the Student Council, loved sports and played and lettered in football (playing both ways), basketball and baseball. His 15 minutes of fame in life by far was playing the best basketball game of his life helping the team to win the district four basketball championship in March of 1951.
He attended and graduated from DeVry in Chicago in 1952 and Mankato State in 1958. He proved his high school advisor wrong who told him not to go to college as he finished in the bottom one third of his high school class. It provoked him not only into graduating from college, but finishing in the top 10%.
After college he worked for four insurance companies the last being State Farm retiring after 25 years of service in 1995.
He loved to travel having been to 49 states (missed Oregon) and many foreign countries.
Being a Patriot rather then being drafted, he enlisted and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1952 to 1955 and received an honorable discharge.
He married Janet Lea Bradley in Owatonna in 1962, who survives him, plus two sons, Kurtis of Owatonna, Kevin Etherton and his wife Tiffany Meyer of River Falls, WI; their only son and his only grandson, Mateo Etherton of River Falls; a sister, Peggy and her husband Milton Olson of Faribault; a sister-in-law, Patricia Bradley of Owatonna, and several nieces and nephews in the surrounding areas.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother Eugene and his wife Bev, a sister, Mary and her husband Kermit Mahlman, a brother Jack and his wife JoAnn, a nephew, Michael Etherton, and by the most wonderful mother-in-law, Stella Mae Bradley.
Later in life he would like to be remembered for helping to save the Morehouse dam against impossible odds with the city and state powers wanting it destroyed. Also he wanted to be remembered for the editorials in the Owatonna Peoples Press which they so graciously printed. He loved Owatonna. At his request he was cremated. He was a Christian and followed his own drummer Jesus Christ. He was known as Wild Bill and the primitive old curmudgeon who prepared and approved of this obituary himself.
Visitation will be held at Michaelson Funeral Home on Saturday, September 5, 2015 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. The memorial service for Bill will be held at Michaelson Funeral Home on Saturday, September 5, 2015 beginning at 11:00 AM. Military honors will be provided by the Steele County Military Funeral Unit. Burial will be held at a later date.
Type: Public Announcement
Date: 2015-08-29
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