William "Bill" Dively's Obituary
William (Bill) Dively of Taylorville passed away peacefully in his home on Friday June 14th.
William was born December 28th 1953, the son of Don and Norma Jean Dively. He grew up in Willeys Station with his parents, sister Debby, and brothers Don and Dave. As kids, Bill and his siblings shared almost everything including a bedroom, clothes, toys and even cars when they grew older. Growing up, Bill and his siblings were responsible for doing chores such as mowing the lawn or filling the furnace with coal. When he wasn’t in school or busy with chores Bill played basketball, baseball, and football.
Bill enjoyed working with his hands and fixing or building things. He had a natural ability to do whatever he set out to do. He also enjoyed working outdoors. His knowledge of working on mechanical things, vehicles, and carpentry began at an early age. Bill’s father taught him that any job worth doing was worth doing right and that all jobs were worth doing. Bill’s Dad owned Dively’s Garage in Willies and he and his brothers spent time in the garage listening to music and learning to work on vehicles. When he was growing up his father gave him a 1949 Willys Jeepster to fix as his first car.
Bill met his love Mary Jo McNamara in 1970. Before he could drive Bill would ask his sister to drive him to the park pool to meet Mary Jo. He graduated from THS in 1972, the two were married April 7th 1973. Together Bill and Mary Jo raised three sons Bill Jr, Todd, and Josh. Bill worked as an electrician and in the coal industry in Illinois and Wyoming, eventually returning to Illinois to work as a maintenance supervisor for ADM. He worked extremely hard his whole life navigating plant closings and job transfers. He always met those challenges head first without complaint. Bill’s most important job was as a husband and father. He taught his boys many things. Riding a bike, throwing and catching a baseball and fishing are just a few. He also taught patience and how to work with our hands. He passed down many of those same lessons he learned from his parents about hard work and to give anything we decide to do 100 percent. No matter how busy he was he always had time to help his sons in any way he could. While building his own house he was often also teaching his sons how to fix things on their own vehicles or homes. He was the type of Dad who would show up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve with a truckload of tools to fix a plumbing problem. He even used his vacation time to babysit his grandkids to help his daughter in law Casey finish graduate school.
Bill was “Papa” to 6 grandkids. He enjoyed listening to his older grandkids accomplishments and sitting at the table and watching his younger grandkids color, always telling them to take their time and stay in the lines. Bill enjoyed the simple things in life like a good cup of coffee and a slice of pumpkin pie, or a caramel macchiato from Starbucks that he always ordered “extra hot”. He enjoyed vacationing in Crystal Falls Michigan for 40 years. It was his favorite place.
William is preceded in death by his parents Don and Norma Jean Dively and his brother Don Dively Jr. He is survived by his wife Mary Jo. Sons: Bill Jr (Rosie) Dively, Todd Dively and Josh (Casey) Dively. Grandchildren: Tyler, Jack, Marley, Brody, Leia and Addison Dively. Brother: Dave and sister Debby Crouch and also many nieces and nephews. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. William’s family would like to thank all of the medical community who helped him throughout his illness, especially Dr. Kelsey Levault and Sister Rose McKeown.
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