William C. Wilborn

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[William C. Wilborn, 95, loving husband of Dorothy L. Wilborn, passed away at Harrisburg Medical Center on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008.

Mr. Wilborn was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Harrisburg. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and three children: Linda and husband Ray Balcauski of Punta Gorda, Fla.; Diane and husband Steve Kelly of Peoria; and Richard and wife Leslie Wilborn of Harrisburg. Seven grandchildren and their spouses will sadly miss him along with six great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his oldest daughter Sharon Wilborn of Albuquerque, N.M., in June of this year.

Born Jan. 7, 1913, in Springfield, Bill graduated from Springfield High School in 1931 and was a musician during the early 1930s playing the King Bass Sousaphone in that Big Band Era with a couple of bands including Marvin Mytar and his Collegians, playing in Peoria and Chicago for various events and the American Legion National Convention. On Sept. 21, 1937, he married his sweetheart Dorothy L. Hartong and settled down to start a family. During the start of World War II, he was rejected by the Army for flat feet and took an essential war job with the railroad and later worked for the Federal and State ordinance plant as a supply manager. After the war, he started in sales with Illinois Wheel and Brake Company selling wheels, rims and brakes to trucking firms throughout central Illinois for 20 years. He then switched companies and became sales manager at Schein Body and Equipment Company in Carlinville for eight years running a sales force which covered most of the state. Bill was an avid golfer playing to a 10 handicap, of which he was quite proud. He was a lifetime member of the Elks Club and was a Mason for several years. He retired in 1975 at age 62, and he and Dorothy spent many winters in Florida, before moving there permanently. He and Dorothy moved back to Illinois to Brookstone Estates in Harrisburg in June 2005 to live out their lives in Southern Illinois.

Funeral service for Bill will be 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008, at Reed Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Paul Widicus officiating. Burial will follow in Sunset Lawn Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008, at Reed Funeral Chapel. Condolences may be made to the family on the Obituary Page of the Internet site www.reedfuneralchapel.com.