Obituary: Kackman, William R. “Bill”
Age 77
Funeral Services will be Friday, August 8th at 10:00 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Endicott.
Burial with military honors will follow at the Endicott Cemetery.
Viewing will be Wednesday and Thursday at Bruning Funeral Home in Colfax.
Bill was born August 29, 1936, in Endicott to Henry and Pauline (Getz Lautenschlager) Kackman.
He grew up on the family farm “the river place” near Endicott with three brothers, Wayne, John and Don.
He attended school in Endicott and excelled at basketball, football and baseball.
He graduated in 1954 and attended college at Cheney before moving back to Endicott and the farm.
He worked at the fertilizer plant in town for a while before being drafted into the U.S. Army.
He served his first enlistment and upon his honorable discharge he returned to Endicott.
A short time later Bill was recalled to serve during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 where he served overseas in Germany as a clerk.
While stationed in Germany he also played football for the Army team, which he loved to tell stories about.
After his years in the Army, he returned home to the family farm.
He continued to farm for many years.
In 1992, he retired from farming and went to work as the manager of Western Farm Service in Endicott until 2004.
This job allowed him to do one of the things he loved the most, visiting (otherwise known as telling stories) with friends and neighbors, as well as getting to know new people.
Bill married the love of his life, Barbara on August 19, 1978, in Coeur d’Alene.
They made their home in St. John with her three girls, ages eight, ten and twelve at the time.
This was a very courageous life change for a single, 41 year old man.
He quickly proved to excel at being both a loving husband and father.
Barbara kept busy as a homemaker and mother and Bill continued farming.
Bill attended all of the girls’ sporting events and taught them how to be true farm girls: driving trucks, raising animals, and riding horses.
He also taught them the importance of a good work ethic and the valuable skill of how to play poker.
The family looked forward to their annual trip to the Blue Mountains when they would pack in with mules and horses.
Bill had a tough exterior, but was always genuine and his tender heart was apparent especially when it came to his four girls and even more so when he was blessed with two grandsons.
Additionally, the list of kids that admired him and called him “Uncle Bill” is a testament to his character.
He enjoyed sports of all kinds but he especially loved watching baseball and also served as an umpire for many years around Whitman County.
He loved hunting trips to the mountains, attending cattle sales, and fishing on the Snake River.
Bill was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Endicott, the Elks Club and a past member of the St. John School Board.
Bill is survived by three daughters; Colleen Woods of Bend, OR, Carmen DeBoer of Bellevue, WA and Jill Swent of Winter Park, CO; two grandchildren, Cameron and Aiden; his brother, Don Kackman of Colfax, and four nieces and eight nephews.
In addition to his wife Barbara, Bill was also preceded in death by two of his brothers, Wayne and John.
The family suggests memorial gifts be made to the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer’s Association or to the St. John EMTs.
BRUNING FUNERAL HOME of Colfax, Washington has been entrusted with funeral arrangements.
Online condolences may be left at www.bruningfuneralhome.com