Bill was born December 10th, 1921 at Coggon, Iowa to Fred William and Alice Kay Plimpton Kane. Bill grew up in Independence, Iowa during the Great Depression. As a young man, he went to work for the CCC, Company 781, and helped build Backbone State Park. He married Virginia Scott on May 2nd, 1942 at Schuyler County, Missouri. Together, they had one daughter, Jean.
Bill was drafted in the US Army and served in the 304th Military Police Escort Guard during WWII. His first assignment was to bring Rommel’s troops from Africa back to POW camps here in the states. He was then sent to England to prepare for D-Day. He was among those who landed on Omaha Beach. He fought in the battles of St. Lo, Aachen, & Remagen Bridge. During the Battle of the Bulge, he found himself behind enemy lines in Herbesthal, Belgium, where the local shoemaker and his family helped hide and keep him alive for 11 days. He was then able to escape under dark of night and returned back to his unit. He was amongst some of the first US soldiers to enter and liberate the Nazi concentration camps and witnessed firsthand the horror of these camps. What he saw there would haunt him the rest of his life, and he preferred not to speak much about it until only recently.
His wife had divorced him while he was still in basic training. When he returned home from the war, he lived briefly with his mother, then brother Chub. He went to work for Mr. and Mrs. Opal Keller at Keller Implement in Independence as a mechanic and welder. He married their daughter, Vernieta Jeane Keller on April 6th, 1947, at the Little Brown Church, Nashua, Iowa. To this union, four children were born, Diana, Kathryn, Teri, and Bill II.
Bill and Vernieta would come to make their home in Waterloo, then Evansdale, Iowa. Bill worked as a mechanic, owned a few trucks of his own, and then drove gasoline truck for the Sun Oil Company. Bill and his wife purchased a cabin in Littleton, Iowa where he would spend many weekends fishing and relaxing. Bill also did mechanic work at his home for many years, and was known as one of the best carburetor men in northeast, Iowa.
On October 18th, 1995, his wife Vernieta passed away. A short time later, he moved up to a little farm northeast of Eldorado, Iowa. He would then return to Evansdale. He spent the winter of 2012-2013 at Maple Crest Manor in Fayette before returning to Evansdale two weeks ago.
Bill will be remembered for his story telling ability and his never failing to have a good joke to tell. He was an excellent mechanic, loved fishing, and spent many deer seasons hunting with family at Elkader. He enjoyed spending time with people, and enjoyed a good drink.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, three brothers, both of his wives, three grandchildren, and his daughter Jean.
He is survived by one brother; Herb of Evansdale, his children; Diane Nathem of Keokuk, Iowa, Kate Durnan (Mark) of rural Elgin, Teri Kane-White (Chuck) of Oelwein, and William E. Kane II (Roberta) of Waterloo, many nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren.
The family would like to thank Randy Cummings, Dan Hildebrand, and Bill’s special friend, Sarah Bast of Evansdale who cared for him for the last 7 years.
Per his request, he will be cremated and services will be held at a later date.
