William Edward Collier


Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino County, CA
Published in the "Big Bear Grizzly" Thursday, February 23, 2006 5:12 PM PST
File uploaded 28 Mar 2006

This file is part of the California Tombstone Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/california/californ.html



William Edward Collier 75, passed Jan. 6, 2006, in Pahrump, Nev. Born Feb. 8, 1930 in 
Indianapolis, Ind., William was tragically orphaned at age 14, and watching helplessly 
from the sidelines the horror of WWII, he asked his older sister to sign papers for him 
to enlist early in the military, so he could lend efforts to serve his country, which she 
finally agreed to in 1946. He served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1950 and was attached 
to the 17th infantry regiment. He served one tour of duty in Korea and Japan, which he did 
not speak of very often. When asked, he'd just shrug and modestly say it was his patriotic 
duty, and he did his small part to keep our country free.

William is survived by his wife of 48 years, Sylvia; brother George, of Florida; two sons, 
Dale (wife Diana) from South Carolina, and Robert (wife Colleen), of Big Bear; four 
grandchildren, Kathleen (17), Robert (14), Matthew (7) and Michael (6), also of Big Bear.

He will be greatly missed by those that knew and loved him. He enjoyed his visits to this 
little town, and we will miss taking him to Teddy Bear restaurant for breakfast - one of his 
favorite things to look forward to on his visits.