Bill Sutton says his friends are surprised to learn that he was in the U.S. Air Force for four years but didn't see an airplane until the day he was discharged.  Bill joined the Air Force after attending Black Hawk College for two years.  He was stationed in San Antonio, Texas for basic training, Biloxi, Mississippi for additional schooling, and Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska at SAC headquarters for the remainder of his four years.  Bill was a ground radio technician who kept the transmitters going for SAC bombers that were in the air 24/7, but he never saw an airplane until his last day.  He was scheduled to go to Vietnam at one point, but those orders were later cancelled.

Married in 1966, Bill then became the father of four. Wendy, Neil, Ryan, and Chad now range in age from 42 to 35 years.  Twenty years later, that marriage ended.  Shortly thereafter, Bill met his second wife, Wanda.  Bill played winter shuffleboard and, when his team was short a player, a teammate brought Wanda.  Then Wanda's husband joined the team.   By the end of the season, Bill was single.  He bumped into Wanda and her husband one night at a restaurant, wrote his phone number down, and offered it to Wanda in case she ever needed to reach him regarding the shuffleboard schedule.   As he handed his number to her, he jokingly said, "Here's my number in case you ever decide to get rid of that jerk."   Wanda's husband was also a good friend of Bill's, and Bill laughed as he spoke. Unbeknownst to him, Wanda and her husband were also close to ending their marriage.

 A year later, in 1986, Wanda and Bill were married.  Wanda had four children as did Bill, and their combined families netted them twelve beautiful grandchildren.  Five of those children are still in the Quad City area, two are in Jackson, Minnesota, and one is in Ames, Iowa.  Their oldest grandchild graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota last May.  Bill and Wanda celebrated their 20^th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows, and Bill lost Wanda to lung cancer in 2008.

After the Air Force, Bill bounced around in various jobs, finally settling in as a mail carrier with the USPS in 1984.  He tells of being bitten three times by the same Old English Sheep Dog.  His favorite story is of a tiny black puppy that would waddle up to him as he began his route of the neighborhood loop, and the pup would travel in Bill's bag, going back to the owner at the completion of the circle. Then winter came, and Bill didn't see the pup. The following spring, this huge black dog came bounding out of the house and hopped into Bill's Jeep, trying to crawl into the mailbag.

Bill had a heart attack and septuple bypass surgery in 1998 and retired from the Postal Service in 2000.  He also served on the Milan City Council for six years.

Like so many others, Bill describes himself as "shy" during those formative teen years.  He played basketball as a sophomore and was on the cross country and swim teams as well but turned up a little short for varsity basketball.  The now 6'5" Bill says he wishes he had stuck with basketball - says he was better at it after he "grew up."  Bill recalls having fun at the football and basketball games and after-game dances.  He also fondly recalls the Class of '62 at the state basketball tournament and the blue Plymouth he got for graduation.  He attended Francis Willard Elementary and Franklin Jr. High, and some of his lifelong friends were Bob Schroeder, George Pickett, Larry Turnipseed, Jim Nesseler, Mike Klingaman, Jim Noble, George Atkinson, Marcia Smith, and Connie Welch.

Today, Bill lives in East Moline, plays golf as often as possible, and enjoys his family, fulfilling both his and Wanda's responsibilities.  Two of his grandchildren are in track and cross country.  One is involved in softball and Judo.  Bill enjoys attending their events.

He shares that the most important thing he's learned in the last forty-nine years is to keep your family and friends close. "You never outgrow your need for friends." Since losing Wanda, Bill has come to realize how true this is.  For now, he plans to continue as he is, enjoying life as it is, and he's doing just fine.

Bill intends to be at the 50^th reunion and would enjoy hearing from classmates. billandwanda812@gmail.com