William “Bill” Joseph Shear

William “Bill” Joseph Shear 83, of Palmyra, MO passed away at Hannibal Regional Hospital on May 18, 2023, where he had been a patient since April 26th.

Bill was born in Palmyra, MO September 20, 1939, a son of Gerald M. and Edna E. Gibson Shear. He attended St Joseph’s Catholic School and Palmyra High School in Palmyra, MO. He worked at Knapheide Mfg. for 33 years before retiring in 1995. He was an avid bowler with several “300” game series and loved to trap shoot. Anything outdoor he loved especially fishing & hunting.

Bill is survived by 2 daughters, Melinda “Mindy” (Luke) Doellman, of Quincy and Vicki Shear of Quincy.
A brother Thomas E. (Pat) Shear and a sister Darla J. (Whitey) Vandenboom both of Quincy; 5 grandchildren Danielle Doellman (Nathaniel Sealock) and Joshua Doellman (Bill’s namesake), Alicia (George) Gore, Nicholas McClean (Gwen Gallaher), and Bailey Shear (Jacob Rowsey).
8 great grandchildren Dawson and Dylan Rossiter and another grandson due in August, William “Will”, Adrienne and Grayson Gore, Riley Jo & Ramsey Lynn McClean, Aiden Rowsey as well as several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by a very good friend whom he looked to as the son he never had, Dave Redd and his family of Palmyra.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a daughter Lori Jo McClean, two grandsons Matthew RJ Doellman and Jesse Rowsey, two sisters Joan Crane and Rosemary Shear in infancy, and a brother Gerald “Jr” Shear.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 22, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. at Duker & Haugh Funeral Home. Interment in Calvary Cemetery.
A visitation will be held on Monday morning from 9:00 -10:30 a.m. at Duker & Haugh Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to American Heart Association or American Cancer Society. Messages may be shared online at www.dukerandhaugh.com.

3 Comments

  1. John Niekamp on May 21, 2023 at 11:54 am

    My sincere condolences Vicki

  2. Mindy on May 22, 2023 at 9:17 pm

    I would like to thank everyone that showed to my father’s funeral this morning. The past few years he has been in and out of the hospital and I have been by his side. To the family that kept in contact and asked about him, thank you for your support. It means a lot. Since I lost my sister Lori in 2014 this singlehanded journey of making sure my dad had what he needed, his health was being monitored and giving him my strength to continue on, has been a hard and arduous one, but I would do it all over again because he was my daddy

  3. Jeanie Owens Jones on May 23, 2023 at 7:14 pm

    Bill Shears was a very dear friend of mine. I met him at the Bowling alley. He was always teasing me and giving me a hard time. Just recently I was wondering about him, and this must be the reason why. So sorry for your loss, but he was a very good man and helped me out when I needed someone.

Leave a Comment