William "Bill"

Puddicombe

William "Bill" R. Puddicombe

When asked what word comes to mind when they think of Bill Puddicombe, his family members listed too many to print, but ranged from honest, family-oriented, fun-loving, and mentor to meticulous, determined, faith-filled, and hero. William Richard (Bill) Puddicombe, 81, of Grand Rapids, MN passed away on Friday, March 4 ^th , 2022 at home surrounded by family. Known by his family as Son, Brother, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Great Grandpa, he was also known lovingly and jokingly by his nicknames, Billy Dick, S.J.A., Mr. Fix-It, Namakan Bill, and Blue Legs.

Born January 3, 1941, in Rockford, Illinois, he moved with his parents to the farm in Wisconsin. He loved recalling times there as a child, milking cows, driving the tractor at age 5 (his dad fashioned a block of wood on top of the gas pedal so that Bill could reach it), and traversing the rafters of the barn. His grandchildren all marvel at his hilarious, first-hand experience rooster impression. After he and his family had moved to Rockford, he met his neighbor Pamela, who would later become his wife. In their later teens, Bill and Pam eloped and just this past fall, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

For many years, he worked as a road construction supervisor for Rajala Construction and retired from there at age 62. Throughout his working career, he also held jobs as draftsman, owning a blasting business with his father, lumber mill operator, and resort owner in Marcell. He also worked at The Cat Shack, had a hand in the early years at ASV, and tried some winter-time logging. Bill was a member of St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids and enjoyed volunteering there, helping prepare for various fundraisers, outreach activities, making faith chests, and filling in as a shepherd in the Christmas live nativity service.

In his early teens, he learned how to fly and earned his pilot's license at age 15. One of his proudest accomplishments was completing the building of a two-seat, single-engine RV6 plane that he finished a few years ago with help from his family and was able to fly in it. He was a lifetime member of EAA and the local EAA Chapter 412. He organized the Young Eagles flying program in Grand Rapids for many years. In addition to flying, he loved camping, RVing, traveling, captaining his various boats, woodworking, painting, dancing to 50s music, helping his grandchildren with various shop projects, assisting as general handyman for his family's various home improvement projects, eating chocolate pie or cake, and enjoying an occasional Shiner Bock.

He is survived by his wife, Pamela (Hensley); children, Polly (Mark) Sheppard, Jo McClure (Dan), Karin (Doug) Grandia, and Russ (Jes) Puddicombe; sisters, Deb (Ken) Olson and Jane (Denny) Rubeck. He had a tradition of creating nicknames for his grandchildren and is survived by Stearns (Samantha), Fenwick (Kaitlin), Pete (Matthew), Zach of Potatoes (Zachary), Betty Lou (Kary), Freddy (Jacob), Tootsie (Emma), Little Toot (Haley), and Tiny Toot (Kada). He is also survived by two great grandchildren, Easton and Colby. And who can forget his favorite canine buddy, Charlie. He is preceded in death by his parents, William Russell and Dorothy Puddicombe; sisters, Janet Puddicombe, Sandra Puddicombe, Diane Alyward, and Kathy Groves; and son-in-law, Dan McClure.

A private family celebration of life will be held. To honor Bill, the Puddicombe family suggests donations to the Alzheimer's Association (https://bit.ly/3CnFKAg or address: 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601) and/or St. Andrew's Lutheran Church Scholarship Fund (501 16th St NW, Grand Rapids, MN 55744).