W.R. "Bill" Dilldine
Marriages
Alma Harris
Merna Schawe - May 25, 1957
Obituaries
Steamboat Pilot - January 14, 2007
W.R. Bill Dilldine
March 13, 1931 - December 30, 2006
Craig resident W.R. "Bill" Dilldine died Dec. 30, 2006, at his home in Craig surrounded by his family. He was 75.
Bill was born March 13, 1931, in Broken Arrow, Okla., to Obie E. and Faye (Pendergraph) Dilldine. He was raised and attended school in Broken Arrow and Okmulgee, where he graduated from high school.
Bill served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict.
Bill married Merna Schawe on May 25, 1957, in Great Bend, Kan., and to this union six children were born. They lived for a time in Great Bend, where Bill worked for the newspaper in the advertising department. They then moved to Coshocton, Ohio, where he was an oiler at the Simco Mine of Peabody Coal Co. In May 1964, the family moved to Craig, where Bill went to work for Seneca Coal Mine as an oiler and later as a dragline operator.
Bill and Merna later divorced. He retired from Seneca in 1996. At that time he met Alma J. Harris, who became his best friend and companion.
Bill enjoyed fishing, hunting and woodworking. He liked to work with his hands and could fix anything. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Elks Lodge.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Mabel Langley; and a brother, Kenneth.
He is survived by his wife, Alma Harris of Craig; his daughter, Mary Beth Dilldine Anders of Highlands Ranch; sons, Jim and his wife, Vicki Dilldine, of Craig, Robert and his wife, Jeanne Dilldine, of Craig, Chris and his wife Kim Dilldine, of Craig, Tim and his companion, Ute Murray, of Craig, and Matthew and his wife, Kandee Dilldine, of Craig; 14 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; his sister, Pauline Lucas of Tulsa, Okla.; and Alma's children, Kenneth and his wife, Julie Harris, and their daughter, Kylie, of Hamilton, and Pam, and her husband Kevin Gann, and their son, Trevor, of Hayden.
Funeral services were held Jan. 4, 2007, at St. Michael Catholic Church with Father James Fox officiating. Joyce Miller sang "How Great Thou Art" accompanied by Elaine DeuPree. Interment followed in the Craig Cemetery with military honors by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 4265.
Memorial donations may be made to the Northwest Colorado VNA and Hospice in care of Grant Mortuary, 621 Yampa Ave., Craig, CO 81625.
