William Bracken

William R. “Bill” Bracken, 66, of Brimfield, passed away at 11:40 a.m. on Sunday, March 13, 2011, at home.
Funeral services will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 17, 2011, at Clary Funeral Home, 428 West McClure Avenue, in Peoria, with Pastor Howard A. Love officiating. Visitation will be at the funeral home from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, prior to services.
Bill was born in Fort Madison, IA on April 19, 1944, a son of R. F. and Mary M. (Stewart) Bracken. They preceded him in death, along with his sister, Frances Braden. He married Sharon L. Bishop on August 20, 1972 in Peoria. She survives.
He is also survived by his daughter, Billie Jo "BJ" Bracken of Brimfield; son, Jeremy “Buster” Bracken of Peoria; sisters, Marjorie Hymbaugh and Spring Kay Swogger, both of Canton, OH; brothers, Dale (Angie) Bracken of Peoria and Thomas (Margie) Bracken of Canton, OH; and his granddaughter, Kennedy Rutherford of Brimfield.
Bill retired in 2004 as a roofing contractor for Peoria Roofing. After his retirement, he had his own remodeling business.
He was a U.S. Army veteran, serving from 1962 to 1965. Upon his discharge, he purchased his first Pontiac GTO.
Bill was a member of the Heart of Illinois GTO Club, the National Hot Rod Association and the American Hot Rod Association. He loved driving his GTO and was well known for his burnouts.
He loved mowing his lawn, 50s and 60s music, bowling, cars, watching drag racing and going to car shows - especially the GTO Nationals and the Woodward Dream Cruise.
Bill was very handy and could build anything. He was very resourceful and could figure out how to do anything. He loved spending time in his garage fixing things and working on cars.
He will be remembered as a kind, generous, loving man of honor. He was a wonderful husband, dad and grandpa.
Memorial contributions may be made in Bill’s memory to the Kennedy Rutherford Education Fund at CEFCU.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of William Bracken, please visit our floral store.