William E. 'Bill' Rumsey

Hutchinson News

William E. "Bill" Rumsey, 71, died Feb. 14, 2004, at Hutchinson Hospital.

He was born Dec. 26, 1932, at Hays, the son of John and Rose Marie Stucky Rumsey. He graduated from Buhler High School and Hutchinson Community College. A longtime resident of Hutchinson, formerly of Bella Vista, Ark, he was a former employee of Cessna Fluid Power Division and Eaton Hydraulics and retired from Star Lumber and Supply.

He belonged to the Mount Olivet Worship Center and attended First Assembly of God, Bentonville, Ark., where he served with Labor of Love Volunteer Services. Over several years through his ministry he has reached thousands with the wooden cross necklaces he crafted. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army.

In 1956, he married Nola May Currie. On May 1, 1982, he married Beverly Gookins. She survives, of the home.

Other survivors include: a son, William L. Rumsey, Rogers, Ark.; two daughters, Debbie Howard, Nickerson, and Lisa Young, Plevna; two stepchildren, Cody Alcorn, Hutchinson, and Angie Lines, Talequa, Okla.; two brothers, Jim, Hutchinson, and Bob, Olympia, Wash.; three sisters, Irene Stephens, Turkey, Texas, Mary Ann Black, Amarillo, Texas, and Patricia Kaul, Topeka; two stepbrothers, Ed and Larry Wolcott, both of Hutchinson; two stepsisters, JoAnn Roy, Stockton, and Janice Cortez, Desert Palm Springs, Calif.; 18 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Elliott Mortuary Chapel, Hutchinson, with Pastor Kenn Haddaway presiding. Friends may call from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, at the mortuary.

Memorials may be sent to the American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association, both in care of the funeral home.