William “Bill” L. Mercer

Services for William L. “Bill” Mercer, 79, Lawrence, will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary. Burial will follow at Clinton Cemetery.Mr. Mercer died Friday, May 12, 2006, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.He was born Oct. 11, 1926, in Bushong, the son of Clinton and Evelyn Peterson Mercer. He had lived in Lawrence since 1952.Mr. Mercer joined the U.S. Army in 1946 and served with the Troop F 7th Cavalry 1st Regiment until he was discharged in 1947. He was manager of Litwin’s Clothing for 25 years. He also worked for the Kansas Turnpike for seven years and owned Mercer’s Bait Shop at Lakeside Village, Perry Lake.He was a member of the Mount Oread Aerie No. 309, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Veterans of Foreign Wars Alford-Clarke Post No. 852 in Lawrence and American Legion Post No. 225 in Ozawkie.He married Frances Bradley on Oct. 11, 1958, in Lawrence. She survives, of the home.Other survivors include three daughters, Sandra O’Brien, Karen Smith and Kay Means, all of Lawrence; a son, Gary Klingenberg, Lawrence; two sisters, Mary Hicks, Mission, Texas, and Edna Cripps, Wichita; 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.The family will greet friends from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the mortuary. The family suggests memorials to the Parkinson’s Research Foundation, the Palliative Care Unit at Lawrence Memorial Hospital or Central United Methodist Church, sent in care of the mortuary.E-mail condolences may be sent to info@warrenmcelwain.com, subject: Mercer.