William H Streeter
(August 30, 1924 – August 08, 2008)
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday in Howe and Yockey Funeral Home, Shelbyville, with Pastor John D. Hollis of Crossroads Free Will Baptist Church in Effingham officiating. Visitation from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Tuesday. Burial will be in Glenwood Cemetery, Shelbyville with military rites by the Shelby County Honor Guard. Memorials may be given to Shelby Humane Society or Lincolnland Hospice.
William was born on August 30, 1924 in Dedham, MA. He is the eldest son of Burns and Kathleen (Mahoney) Streeter. He married Myrna Jean Crabtree on July 6, 1985 in Okawville, IL. They have resided in Shelbyville since 1999. William was raised in the South Boston area and attended school there until the eleventh grade. He was drafted into the US Navy in October 1942 and served on the USS NIELDS DD 616. It was sunk and William was one of the few survivors. After survivor’s leave, he was assigned to the crew of the USS ROWE at Bremerton, WA in 1943. His ship, the ROWE, was one of the ships that guarded the USS MISSOURI during the surrender. He was discharged in January of 1946 at Philadelphia. He worked as a maintenance engineer for the Illinois National Guard at the O’Hare Airport, retiring in 1986. He loved the outdoors, woodworking and was an excellent cook. He also loved animals and saved several sets of dogs from the pounds and shelters. He was a member of Roy Vanderpool American Legion Post #81 and VFW Post #4829 both of Shelbyville.
Surviving are his wife, Myrna; step-son, Michael (Robin) Crabtree of Shelbyville; sons, William Streeter of Eatonville, WA, Thomas (Monica) Norton of Visalia, CA, and Phillip Streeter of Auburn, WA; grandchildren, Heather Norton, Brett Norton, Billy Streeter; Phillip Streeter and Meghan Brown; great grandchild, Logan Streeter; and sister-in-law, Caroline (Leonard) Poage of Englewood, FL.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wives, Josephine Hartford, Sarah Knowlton and Dorothy Peterson; son, Steven Streeter; daughters, Mary Streeter in infancy and Arlene (Streeter) Brown; brother, Paul Streeter; and aunt, Cassandra (Streeter) Wojek.