Willis Raymond "Bill" Birchard.... Age 77

Memorials are to Bright Focus Foundation send c/o Eddy-Birchard Funeral Home P.O. Box 430 Osawatomie, KS 66064

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Willis Raymond “Bill” Birchard age 77 of Ottawa, KS formerly of Osawatomie, KS died Saturday September 18, 2021 at Life Care Center of Osawatomie.

Bill was born October 25, 1943 in Paola, Kansas. He was the youngest and only son born to Willis Ward and Edyth Marie (Horn) Birchard. He went to school in Osawatomie, graduating with Osawatomie High School Class of 1961.

Right out of high school, Bill went to work at Hallmark as a machine repair maintenance tech until 1974. He then went to work for the family business, the Eddy-Birchard Funeral Home, he earned his mortuary license in Topeka, Kansas. In 1977, Bill went to work for Bendix King, later known as Honeywell, as an electrician. He retired in 2002

In 1963, he married Kathy Akers. They had two children, Bill and Julie the marriage ended in divorce in 1967. Then January 4th 1969, Bill married Leanna Bonner. During their marriage they had three children Christy, Jed and Matt. The marriage later ended in divorce in 1978. Then on May 16, 1998 he married Judy McDowell.

After retirement, Bill and Judy traveled all over and spent a lot of time at the casinos. They had an amazing time together. Time was no thing they just enjoyed each other.

Bill never missed his kid’s events. During his younger years he coached his kid’s t-ball and softball. He went on to coach little league baseball for 14 years. In 1984, his team won the little league championship in Iola, KS. In 1982 the 10 and under team won league champs in Osawatomie. He was also the President of the Osawatomie Wrestling club and he was a coach. One of the joys was coaching Jed and Matt in wresting alongside coaches Mike Ford and Randy Newport.

Every Thanksgiving, Bill and his three sons would go to Western Kansas to pheasant hunt. Around 1980, he and a number of his friends and family spent many days and nights east of Osawatomie on the Marais des Cygnes River that they called “The River Camp”. This was his joy, fishing, being ornery and just having a blast.

Bill enjoyed trapshooting. He liked racing motorcycles, going to car shows and loved bowling. He was also a lifeguard and was an incredible swimmer. He had a lot of amazing trips but two that stood out the most was when he took Jed, Matt, and Christy to Las Vegas for their first time and one of the things they remember is him yelling out was “Viva Las Vegas”. His second trip was to Costa Rica with his mother and Jed and Matt on a fishing trip. His favorite thing was spending time with his children, grandchildren and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and three sisters Wilma Johnson, Deana Boedicker and Lela Brown.

He is survived by his wife Judy of the home, five children, Bill Birchard of Paola, KS, Julie Timblin of Paola, KS, Christy Birchard of Osawatomie, KS, Jed (Donita) Birchard of Osawatomie, KS and Matt (Brandy) Birchard of Louisburg, KS, three stepdaughters, Julie, Sundy and Marcie along with their families. Eleven grandchildren, Caylor, Sadie, Tess, Samantha, Madison, Zachary, Alexandra, Madison, Patrick, Hailey and Chris and two great grandchildren Zayden and Aiden. He also leaves behind two brother in laws, Larry Brown and Hank Boedicker and many nieces, nephews and their families.