Lt. Col. Cecil Williams

PATTON, Mo. -- Lt. Col. Cecil B. Williams, 99, of Rolla, Missouri, passed away Thursday, June 11, 2015.

He was born Jan. 30, 1916, near Mayfield in Bollinger County, Missouri, son of Cornelius Bennett and Amelia Catherine Green Williams.

Cecil attended Green and Seabaugh elementary schools. His high school years were spent at Patton High School, Will Mayfield Academy and Marquand High School, where he graduated in 1935. While attending school at Marquand, he met his future wife on a school bus on the way to a math competition.

He taught school at the Seabaugh School and attended Southeast Missouri State University.

Cecil volunteered for military service April 10, 1941, with the U.S. Army Air Corps (later known as the Air Force) at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. After basic training and radio school at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, he was transferred to Cochran Field in Macon, Georgia, to train British cadets.

Lt. Col. Cecil Williams

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Cecil was selected for Officer Candidate School in Miami Beach, Florida. After graduation and promotion to second lieutenant, he returned to Jefferson Barracks and married Lillian Irene Ward of Marquand on July 12, 1942.

Cecil was transferred to Hickam Field at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was assigned to the 7th Air Force and to HQ Kahuku Army Air Base on the north shore of Oahu. He spent time in the Pacific Ocean area, on Funafuti in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, and was transferred back to Hickam Field when Japan surrendered.

After he was released from military duty at Jefferson Barracks, he was employed by the St. Louis post office as a railway mail clerk. He sorted mail on the St. Louis to Little Rock train route.

He remained in the Reserve and was recalled during the Korean War to the rank of major in March 1951 as the Hq. Air Training Command postal officer at Scott Air Force Base. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring in 1963 after 35 years of active and Reserve duty.

Cecil belonged to the Masonic Order, his Blue Lodge being in Millersville, Scottish Rite and Shrine, and the Rock Hill, Missouri, Presbyterian Church. He volunteered and worked with Rock Hill Civil Defense Unit.

He retired from the Postal Service in 1976. He worked part time at Art Mart Inc. at Warson Woods, Missouri, in the printing field more than 20 years. He pursued his interest in genealogy, gathering documents of the Bollinger family by traveling to libraries, courthouses and cemeteries in many states, as well as traveling to Switzerland. He was the assistant editor of "The Bollinger Connections," a compilation of the genealogy of the Bollinger family, and was instrumental in getting the book published.

Cecil "C.B." and Lillian enjoyed traveling, visiting all 50 states, as well as Canada, Mexico and Europe. They celebrated 71 years of marriage together.

Survivors include two daughters, Linda Diane (Charles Richard) Armistead of St. James, Missouri, and Terri Lynn (Gerald Warner) Carlson of Richmond, Virginia; three grandchildren, Michael Charles Armistead, Gerald Leon Carlson and Jennifer Nicole Carlson; a brother, Jewell A. (Ted) Williams; and two nephews, Donald Loy Ward and Rick Dee Williams.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Lillian Irene Williams; a nephew, Clyde Delano Ward; and a niece, Vicky Lee Moore.

Visitation will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Liley Funeral Home in Patton. A Masonic service will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday by West View Masonic Lodge.

The funeral will be at noon Wednesday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Fred Ritter officiating. Interment will be in Patton Cemetery with full military honors conducted by Missouri Honors Team.

Memorials are suggested to Bollinger County Historical Society, P.O. Box 181, Marble Hill, MO 63764.

Condolences may be left online at lileyfuneralhomes.com.