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IN LOVING MEMORY OF

William G

William G Myers Profile Photo

Myers

Jul 8, 1924 — Apr 7, 2019

Cocoa Beach

Obituary

William G. (Bill) Myers, age 94, passed away peacefully in his sleep Sunday morning, April 7th, 2019.  A long time resident of Cocoa Beach, he was born at home in the middle of the "roaring twenties" in the thriving town of New Kensington, Pa.  The second child of Edward and Elsie Myers, He and his brother Edward (Bud) attended a one room school house from the first through eighth grades and gained a great admiration and respect for the lone teacher that schooled them all.  His father died when Bill was only twelve from consumption (tuberculosis) and so the challenge of raising two boys alone during the height of the depression fell to his mother, Elsie, who found a job as a secretary with a railroad company.  The family moved to Chicago when the company located its headquarters there and Bill graduated from East Chicago High School where he played football and was active in the electronics club.  Upon graduation, he and a friend went down to the local recruiting office to join the Marines, but were rejected due to poor eyesight.  Undaunted, Bill then went next door and signed up with the U. S Army Air Corps where he was trained as a radio operator.  Upon completion of training, he was assigned to fly many aircraft from the U.S. to Africa and Europe.  He then was assigned to the Air Transport Command in the China-Burma-India theater where he flew the cargo version of the B-24, the C-87.  His command flew supplies over the treacherous Himalayan mountains from India into China where they supported the famous Flying Tigers air group.  On the return trips, they often would carry wounded soldiers for treatment in India. During his tour of duty he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and awarded the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. At the end of the war, he was discharged at what is now Andrews Air Force Base and returned home to Hammond, IN.  He then decided to attend college at Purdue University on the G.I.Bill and became the first person in his family to graduate from college.  During his last year at Purdue, he met and married Evelyn Bombeck of Springdale, PA., by whom he had four children, Terry, Barbara, Mark, and Linda (who was born on the day John Glenn first orbited the earth). Majoring in Electrical Engineering, he worked at Sears, Westinghouse, and Koppers company, all in the Pittsburgh area.  During this time, he decided to build his own house and often worked at nights and weekends, displaying considerable skill as a carpenter to build a solid, lovely house that stands to this day.  As the Space Age approached, Bill decided to join the Rocket and Space industry and joined Boeing as an engineer working on the Bomarc, Minuteman, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. During this time, he also attained designation as a Professional Engineer and received an MBA from Stetson University.  During the gap between the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, Bill was assigned to work on solar energy in the Huntsville, AL area and the southeast.  Upon return to Cocoa Beach, he divorced his first wife and met and married Elaine Bauman and settled back in Cocoa Beach, this time for good.  He and Elaine loved to go dancing at the local Merritt Island Moose club and travelled often, to many national and international destinations.  One of their favorite destinations was Las Vegas, where they would enjoy a dinner show in the evening, then tuck Elaine into bed,  whereupon Bill would head back down to the casino to play a little poker. Their large blended family members visited them often in the friendly confines of their little home in Cocoa Beach and they loved to hold cookouts in the backyard as well as host holiday meals.  After working over thirty years for Boeing, Bill retired and became a volunteer at Cape Canaveral hospital and Meals on Wheels. He also became interested in local politics and was a founding member of the Citizens' Action Committee, and eventually was elected as a City Councilman of Cocoa Beach. Sadly, Elaine preceded him in death by several years due to a cancerous brain tumor.  After her loss, Bill threw himself into volunteer work, projects at his own house as well as those of his children, and the Citizens' Action Committee.   All of his activities could not soothe the loneliness he felt after the loss of Elaine and he reached out and reconnected with Dorothy Deblois, who he had known years before when he had worked on the Bomarc program.  She had also been recently widowed and the two of them married and settled in Cocoa Beach.   Dorothy also loved dancing and travel and soon they were to be seen at local venues and many airports enjoying their golden years.  Their most notable trip was with a group of former airmen who had flown together in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II as they returned to China to remember their fallen comrades.  Dorothy also preceded him in death due to the effects of dementia and diabetes.  During the last year of his life, he remained active and engaged in local politics, often attending the bi-weekly city council meetings, and delivering Meals on Wheels, often to people thirty years younger than he was.  Physical fitness was always important to him and he joined a local fitness club and met with a personal trainer weekly, and was often to be seen walking around the neighborhood after dinner. Bill enjoyed playing golf from a young age and was an active member of the Boeing golf league which played at most of the local Brevard county courses and often travelled to some of the more well-known courses around the state for their annual outing. He also was able to attend both the Master's tournament in Augusta twice, and the FedEx tournament in Atlanta, where he enjoyed following the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, and Tiger Woods. His home course, though, was always Cocoa Beach, and he loved to play the River course and enjoy its beauty, even though he may have lost the odd ball in the river, and was never quite comfortable turning his back on that gator in the pond behind him to hit his next shot.  A life-long fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Steelers as well, he was able to attend a Pirates spring training game this past season in Kissimmee where he sat glued to his seat right behind the Pirate dugout, binoculars in hand, rooting his team on, and was overjoyed as the Pirates performed one of the rarest defensive acts  in baseball, a triple play. Bill's love of golf, the Pirates and his hometown of Cocoa Beach, were only exceeded by his love of his children, grandchildren, great-grand-children and extended family and friends.  His warm smile and kind words will be sadly missed by family and friends, but forever held close in our hearts. Farewell thou kind and noble warrior, lay down thy sword and rest in peace.
Memorial service to be held  1:00 p.m., Friday, April 12th, 2019 at Riverside Presbyterian Church, Cocoa Beach.  Reception to follow in the fellowship hall.  Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the American Cancer Society.
To send flowers or plant a memorial tree in memory, please visit our flower store.

Funeral Services

Memorial Service

April
12

Friday

Riverside Presybertian Church

3400 North Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931

Starts at 1:00 pm

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