64869_William_Hurmence
William Hurmence, 95, formerly from Tripoli, died on Friday, October 4, 2013, at Linn Manor Care Center, Marion, Iowa.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, October 10, at the Sumner United Methodist Church, 115 Pleasant St., Sumner, Iowa.
William was born in Sumner, Iowa, on June 16, 1918, the son of William Edward and Irma (Haag) Hurmence. He was the third of eight children born to them. He grew up in Sumner and graduated from Sumner High School in 1935.
He continued his education at Gates Business College where he excelled in typing. Upon graduation he could type 100 words per minute. After graduation he worked a short time at Rath Packing Company before joining the Civilian Conservation Corps where he helped construct Beeds Lake in Hampton, Iowa.
Bill was called home when his father died unexpectedly at the age of 52. After his father~s death, his brother Ralph took his father~s place in the Hurmence Telephone Company and Bill moved to Fredericksburg to manage Ralph~s Gamble Store there.
On November 26, 1941, Bill married Marie Kelsey at her parents~ home in rural Tripoli. He was drafted into the Army in February 1942 and served until October, 1945. Most of his service was spent overseas as a company clerk, following General George S. Patton through Africa, Sicily and Italy. During the later years of the war, Bill was responsible for the pay, food, clothing and transportation for over 100 Italian civilians employed by the American War Department.
Upon his return from the service, Bill and Marie settled in Tripoli. He was employed by Interstate Power Company and then Warner Electric. In 1958, Bill decided to go into business for himself and started Hurmence Electric. His business of farm, home and commercial wiring thrived for many years until his health forced him into retirement in 1979.
After Bill~s retirement, he and Marie spent 12 winters in North Port, Florida. Summers found them at their cabin at Clear Lake~s Methodist Camp, the site of many happy family reunions. In 2005, the couple moved to the Willows in Mason City and sold the home they had built in 1946.
Marie passed away in 2009, and in 2011 Bill moved to Jacksonville, Florida to his daughter~s home, where she and Clint lovingly cared for him. In May 2013, Bill moved back to Iowa to be near his daughter Cathy and her family in Marion.
Bill loved to travel and instilled that love in his children. He also loved music. He played the clarinet from childhood to shortly before his death. He had a wonderful ear as well as the gift of improvisation. He loved the challenge of any new technology. He spent many hours Skyping with his family and enjoying email and Instant Messaging. Bill and Marie were avid Hawkeye fans, holding season tickets for many years.
Bill was a member of the American Legion, served on the Tripoli City Council for eight years and the Library Board for many years. He played clarinet for several years with the Tripoli City Band and for 50 years with the Little German Band.
Bill was deeply loved by his wife, children and grandchildren. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his children, Laura (Clinton) Burrow, Jacksonville, Fla., Catherine (Allan) Alcock, Marion, Iowa, and Joel Hurmence, Fort Collins, Colo.; four grandchildren, Benjamin Burrow, Nicole (Jon) Huff, Amanda (Eric) Freese and Betsy (Josiah) Bushlack; seven great-grandchildren, Vanessa, Jaysaunt, Tierin, Syler, Eliah, Evan and Jonah; and many nephews and nieces.
Bill was preceded in death by parents, his wife, a great-grandson, Max Bushlack, and his seven siblings, Ralph, Norman, Jeannette, James, Wayne, Donald and Gerald.
An online guestbook can be found at cedarmemorial.com. Memorials will be used to promote instrumental music education and can be directed to his daughter Catherine Alcock, 3790 28th Ave., Marion, IA 52302.