Willard ''Bill'' Francis Last

WILLARD "BILL" LAST MUSCATINE, Iowa - Willard "Bill" Francis Last, 78, formerly of Muscatine, died Friday, August 13, 2004, at the Crestview Nursing and Rehabilitation, West Branch, after an extended illness. Funeral Service will be 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 18, 2004, at St. Mathias Church. Reverend John P. Gallagher will officiate. Casket bearers will be Sam and Aaron Last, Mike Reeves, Dennis Janssen, Jack Lamm and Fred Wookey. Honorary Bearers will be Paul Bermel, Paul Schumacher and Sean Last. Burial will be in St. Mary Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Knights of Columbus or to Crestview Nursing and Rehabilitation. Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 17, 2004, at the funeral home. A Rosary will be prayed at 7 p.m. by the Knights of Columbus. Online condolences for the Last family may be left at www.wittichfuneralhome.com. Mr. Last was born on November 29, 1925, in Black Creek, Wisconsin, the son of Willard F. and Frances Van Straten Last. He married Helen Elizabeth Jochman on June 16, 1948 in Appleton, Wisconsin. He was a graduate of University of Wisconsin with a Maste...[more]

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in Microbiology. He was a member of the St. Mathias Church, the Knights of Columbus, was a past Grand Knight, and a member of the 4th degree. He was a member of the American Legion, the VFW and the Moose Lodge #388. Bill was an avid hunter and fisherman and loved the great outdoors. He served in WWII in the Army. He was a Regional Governor in Korea after WWII and prior to the Korean War. He worked as a superintendent of Quality Control at Grain Processing Corporation, retiring after 37 years of service. He was instrumental in starting Quality Control and the fermentation plant. Survivors include a two sons, Michael Last and wife Kathy, of West Liberty, and Mark Last, of Muscatine; seven grandchildren, Shasta, Eric, Sam, Sean, Aaron and Hunter Last, and Stephanie Reeves; two sisters, Ruby Minlschmidt, of Black Creek, Wisconsin, and Ethel and husband Clarence Diermeier, of Black Creek, Wisconsin; many nieces and nephews also survive. He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Helen in 1994, and a son, Matthew J. Last in 1991.