William C. Bashaw, 84, of Overland Park, Kansas, died Monday, October 19, 2020 at his home. Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 22, at the Porter Funeral Home 8535 Monrovia Lenexa, KS.
The Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, at Queen of the Holy Rosary, 7023 W. 71st St. Overland Park, KS. Burial will follow at Resurrection Cemetery, Lenexa, KS.
Bill was born September 12th, 1936 to Corbert & Marie (Poeppelmeier) Bashaw in Dayton, OH. Bill grew up in rural Dayton with his family of 2 brothers & 6 sisters. Bill graduated high school and joined the US Air Force, where he was a mechanic specializing in helicopter maintenance. Bill was stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, KS. While there, Bill met the love of his life, Lois Birk. Soon after his honorable discharge, Bill and Lois were married on May 9th, 1959 and became the parents of 8 children (3 girls, 5 boys). They lived in Dayton for a short time, before moving to Gridley, KS to be closer to Lois' family. A few years later they moved to Overland Park where Bill worked for TWA for 14 years before starting his own sharpening business which grew into Overland Tool. He was proud to be able to employ many members of his family throughout the years. He retired from the business only 7 years ago. Bill was an active member of the community through his church. He was also a Scout leader for many years and was a member of Kiwanis International.
Bill was a hardworking man and inspired that work ethic in his children and grandchildren. He was able to balance work and play and along with Lois enjoyed traveling, including many summer vacations with the entire family. In later years, they also traveled to Hawaii, Greece, and Turkey. Memorial Day was his favorite holiday with the weekend filled with competitive fishing tournaments (having the biggest catch and mounting it), a fish fry, and hand-cranked homemade ice cream. He loved to hunt, especially pheasant, in western Kansas. Bill was a man of sterling character and always made people feel like family.
Bill is survived by his wife, Lois, a sister Emilie Hillie of Bowman GA, and children; Greg (Kim) of Gridley, KS, Dan (Holly) of Shawnee, KS, Cindy (Allen) Robertson of Hartford, KS, Joe (Val) of Admire, KS, Troy (Karen) of Williamsburg, KS, Anne (Mike) Neas of Overland Park, KS, Amy Patton of Shawnee, KS, and Mark (Deedee) of Renton WA, 24 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and friends. Bill was very loved and will be missed by his family.