William "Bill" S. Ackley, Jr.

William “Bill” S. Ackley Jr., 71, of Vermont, IL, passed away at 11:37 pm on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at Graham Hospital in Canton, IL. He was born on April 29, 1952 in Alexandria, VA, the son of William S. and Pearl (Kalp) Ackley Sr. Bill married the love of his life, Sharon Mahan on May 16, 1971 in Vermont. The two were inseparable until Sharon preceded Bill in death on August 2, 2022.

Also preceding him death are his parents, great-grandson, Brayden Baker, and 2 sisters, Margret Wright and Tina Bundy.

Bill is survived by his daughter Lisa (and Darin) Kreps of Vermont, granddaughter, Chelsea (and Tyler Baker) Ackley of Vermont, great-grandson, Dawsyn Baker, twin brother, Jim (and Vicky) Ackley of Vermont, 3 sisters, Karen Cole of Las Vegas, NV, DeeAnn Fromm of Peoria, IL and Mary Watson of Bloominton, IL, and several nieces and nephews.

Bill first worked as a farm hand for the Arnett’s in Lewistown. He would go on to work at Dana Corp in Havana, IL as an iron pourer. When Dana Corp closed, Bill worked as a mechanic and detailed cars for Frye Auto Sales in Vermont. He later attained a CDL and became an over the road truck driver for Wabash Transportation.

Bill loved music and gardening. He would put out a large garden every year and enjoyed spending a lot of time working in it. He enjoyed taking walks, visiting with people and going to fairs. He had a great interest in weather highs and lows, such as temperatures and rain and snow fall. He would keep record of this along with recording other things such as when local business would close and where they were located. Both Sharon and Bill adored their cat, Cuddles.

Most of all though, Bill loved his family and he loved spending time with his great-grandson Dawsyn and granddaughter Chelsea. As his only granddaughter, Chelsea was Bill’s pride and joy. She was “Pampa’s girl”.

Services will be held on Monday, June 26th at 11:00 am at Shawgo Memorial Home in Astoria, IL. Interment will be in the Vermont Cemetery. Visitation will take place on Sunday, June 25th from 5-7 pm at the funeral home. Memorials in Bill’s memory may be made to the donor’s choice.