William Paul March

Not listed on any map is a place called "Bill's Crazy Squirrel Mountain". You will know you've found it when you hear a slightly off-key "Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam..." carried on the wind.

William Paul "Bill" March rode off into the sunset on February 10, 2023.

Born October 1932 in Springfield, MO, the second son to Walter Calvin March and Mildred Lucille (Bourne) March, Bill supposed that he was named for each of his grandfathers: William Bourne, his mother's father, and Paul Franklin March, his father's dad.

Bill recalled a happy childhood. He loved wild west stories told to him by his Grandpa Paul, who indeed had "gone out west" to work on ranches in the late 1800s. During the War years, the March family had a Victory Garden. Near the family home was a large field of wild blackberries where the Bill, his older brother Robert "Bob" C. March, and his parents would "pick 'til dark and put them up (canning)." They had many blackberry pies and preserves from those fields.

Bill was known to say that his mother knew how to cook two things: "bad and worse," with exception of her fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and the yellow cakes with chocolate frosting on birthdays.

Bill had a quick wit and sense of humor. As a boy, his mother fell with the grocery bags, and Bill teased, "Mom! You didn't break my RC?"

Bill's first job was a paper route. Regularly he would toss the papers on foot, however when it rained his mother would drive their 1930's Pontiac sedan and he'd toss from the running board. One rainy day, Bill tossed short and yelled for Mildred to stop the car so he could retrieve the paper from the ditch. She did, Bill jumped off and was hit by a passing car. Fortunately, for him - and probably also for the driver since Mildred was beside herself - he was not badly hurt. Ironically, as teenager Bill worked as a "car hop" for a hamburger joint, something he enjoyed teasing his mother about.

The family moved to Joplin, MO and Bill began high school there in 1946. He headed off to Central Methodist College in Fayette, MO, taking six years to get his Bachelor of Science in Business, two of which were spent drafted into the Army. He served as a Military Police officer from 1953 to 1955 attached to the United Stated Armed Forces Pacific Command, Army Headquarters, stationed in Hawaii at Scoffield Barracks.

In 1955 Bill returned to college where he and his friend, Charlie Miller were known to be pranksters. They were a bit older and could take their dates to the VFW. Wanting to enter a sports league on campus but not being in a fraternity, they coined themselves "The Atom Club" to play basketball.

Bill met Nancee (Nancy) Dee Foster at Central Methodist where they were set up on a date by a friend. They married in Portageville, MO on August 18, 1957.

Like his father, Bill began to work for Southwestern Bell, first as a "brush cutter" then moved into management, becoming a Regional Manager in Missouri. His job transferred him several times over the years. Bill and Nancy lived in Maplewood, MO, transferred to St. Joseph, MO, on to Chillicothe, MO, then to Moberly, MO, and later back to St. Joseph, MO. Their last transfer would be to Kansas City in 1984, where they settled in Shawnee, KS.

As a young married couple, Bill and Nancy spent time touring the country in their Triumph Spitfire. Bill also enjoyed bird hunting and riding motorcycles. His love of fishing, camping, and exploring would be passions he continued to pursue. His wife, not being as devoted to the "roughing it" style of vacations Bill enjoyed, would go with him to destinations involving running water, electricity, and room service. Understanding Bill's wanderlust, Nancy didn't mind Bill "roughing it" solo in the wilds of the Colorado, Montana, and pack tripping in Wyoming. He toured Alaska and took flights into isolated parts of Canada to fish and hike. Nancy had a paralyzing fear of air travel, so Bill went solo on a bucket list sight-seeing safari adventure to Kenya.

After having children, Bill and Nancy continued their outdoor tradition with their young family taking their children camping, fishing, and river rafting.

In summers, Bill coached his son's little league and taught his kids to dive and do flips off the board.

An avid reader, Bill pursued interests in Civil War history, genealogy of the March family, and topics in science and history. He enjoyed photography and documented his many travels through still shots and video complete with comedic commentary.

Bill retired from the phone company in 1992.

In 2010, Nancy March was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. By mid-2015 she no longer recognized Bill, nor her children. In 2016 Nancy began residency in a memory care unit, where Bill visited regularly, taking her out to lunch for her favorite burger and fries or Chinese. No matter who Nancy believed him to be, she always felt safe with Bill. And though she didn't recognize her husband, she was smitten with him anew. To the end, Nancy would gush like a girl with a crush every time she saw him.

Bill would pick Nancy up for church every Sunday until that was no longer feasible. At that point, he visited and read the Bible to her. It was such a day in November 2018, with Bill reading the Bible to her, when she died peacefully.

Bill continued to be an active member of his church. He enjoyed participation in an outreach ministry to the prison in Lansing, KS.

He moved to Lakeview Village in 2019 where he remained an avid walker, swimmer, and even took up line dancing.

Always "healthy as a horse," around November 2020, Bill was afflicted with Guillain Barre; then, after a remarkable recovery, the chronic form of that disease, CIDP, impacted his health. He fought to regain his strength, all the while battling heart and kidney disease. He moved to the Care Center in December 2022. His health failing, on February 8, 2023, Bill opted for Hospice and to cease all medical treatment, telling his family he was okay with that, "because I'm a believer."

Bill is survived by his children, Amy C. Boswell and William M. March, and by his grandchildren, Jessica N. (March) Kueser, Natalie C. March, and William "Will" M. March. His family will forever remember his laughter, devotion, and his stalwart spirit.