William "Bill" McConnell

William “Bill” McConnell passed away June 19, 2019 in Albany, Oregon after an almost 4 year battle with brain cancer.   Bill was born in Sunnyside, Washington October 29, 1952 to Ruth Knight and Norman McConnell . He spent part of his childhood growing up in Pennsylvania before moving to Emmett, Idaho.    Bill was a graduate of Emmett High School. He began working in the logging industry. After logging for a few years he began a career in agriculture. He worked for Johannason’s Fruit Ranch in Emmett before going to Symms Fruit Ranch in Caldwell, Idaho, where he proudly worked for 25 years. Growing fruit was his passion.   Bill was president of the Idaho Horticultural Society in 1994. He served on the Idaho Cherry Commission for many years. He was appointted to the commission by Governor Kempthorne in July 2005. He was appointed to the Idaho Apple Commission in 1996 by Governor Phil Batt. He was a proud Idahoan farmer!    Bill loved going to the casinos. And playing video poker. He was quite lucky at it.   He also had a passion for golf. He was a member of Gem County Golf Association and the Idaho Golf Association for many years. He also served as president of the Gem County Golf Association. He played many years in the McCall & the Boise Cascade tournaments.    Bill had a great love for music. He loved his karaoke music and loved a good party especially at Christmas.   Later in life he had a great love for the beach and a fascination for lighthouses. When Bill found out about his cancer & could no longer work he wanted to see as many lighthouses as he could across the United States.   Bill is survived by the love of his life, his wife, Laura. Also, five brothers and sisters; Kathy Buck (John) of Emmett, Chuck McConnell (Karen) of Caldwell, Tom Knight (Bobbie) of Horseshoe Bend, Mary Knight of Emmett, Chris Knight of Star, Jim Eskridge of Boise. Step-children Malinda, Matthew  and their children. Bill shared an exceptional bond with his cousin Tim Kalac (Dellis) of Horseshoe Bend. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and friends.  A celebration of his life will be held at 3:00 p.m. on July 13, 2019 at the ranch of John & Kathy Buck, 1248 Morehouse Rd, Emmett 83617. Join us to share a great story about Bill. 

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