IN LOVING MEMORY OF
William "Bill"
Martin Cawley
August 28, 2015
Obituary
ELKHART — William M. "Bill" Cawley, 66, of Elkhart, passed away following a brief illness at 3:20 a.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at the Eastlake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Elkhart.
He was born Dec. 31, 1948, in Chicago, to the late John and Ida (Zalinski) Cawley. He married Deborah A. "Midget" Miller in Elkhart on July 14, 1980. She survives at home.
Also surviving are his sons, Matthew Cawley of Elkhart, Lance (Paula) Proffitt of Marcellus, Mich., Jeremy (Sunny) Proffitt of Middlebury and Robert Hackney of Elkhart; brothers Tom and Richard (Jolene) Cawley, both of Elkhart; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Bill's life will be at Billings Funeral Home of Elkhart on Thursday, Sept. 3, with visitation beginning one hour prior to the 1 p.m. funeral service. Chaplain Tommy Black of Elkhart VFW No. 88 will officiate, and burial will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Osceola with military graveside honors rendered by DAV 19, VFW 88 and the U.S. Army Funeral Honor Guard.
Following high school, Bill served honorably in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, where he received a purple heart for wounds received during hand-to-hand combat. He worked at Vincent-Bach of Elkhart for more than 37 years and was a member of DAV Post 19 and VFW Post 88, where he served as quartermaster. He was an avid Harley Davidson enthusiast and enjoyed riding with his biker and veteran brothers. He also enjoyed playing dominoes, golfing and bingo when he wasn't riding.
Condolences can reach the family at www.billingsfuneralhome.com. Memorial donations may be given to VFW 88 or DAV 19, both of Elkhart.
He was born Dec. 31, 1948, in Chicago, to the late John and Ida (Zalinski) Cawley. He married Deborah A. "Midget" Miller in Elkhart on July 14, 1980. She survives at home.
Also surviving are his sons, Matthew Cawley of Elkhart, Lance (Paula) Proffitt of Marcellus, Mich., Jeremy (Sunny) Proffitt of Middlebury and Robert Hackney of Elkhart; brothers Tom and Richard (Jolene) Cawley, both of Elkhart; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Bill's life will be at Billings Funeral Home of Elkhart on Thursday, Sept. 3, with visitation beginning one hour prior to the 1 p.m. funeral service. Chaplain Tommy Black of Elkhart VFW No. 88 will officiate, and burial will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Osceola with military graveside honors rendered by DAV 19, VFW 88 and the U.S. Army Funeral Honor Guard.
Following high school, Bill served honorably in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, where he received a purple heart for wounds received during hand-to-hand combat. He worked at Vincent-Bach of Elkhart for more than 37 years and was a member of DAV Post 19 and VFW Post 88, where he served as quartermaster. He was an avid Harley Davidson enthusiast and enjoyed riding with his biker and veteran brothers. He also enjoyed playing dominoes, golfing and bingo when he wasn't riding.
Condolences can reach the family at www.billingsfuneralhome.com. Memorial donations may be given to VFW 88 or DAV 19, both of Elkhart.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of William "Bill" Martin Cawley, please visit our flower store.
Services
Funeral Service
September
3
Starts at 1:00 pm