GREENWOOD
William “Bill” L. Sheeks, 88, of Greenwood, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, April 9, 2016.
He was born Aug. 20, 1927, in Mitchell, to the late Lester and Mary (Cooper) Sheeks.
He was the second of four children. He is survived by his sister, Rosemary McCart of Plainfield, and was preceded in death by his sisters Penny Jones and Janet Greene.
He grew up on a farm in Mitchell and learned farm work at an early age.
He attended and graduated from Mitchell High School where he participated in softball, basketball and track.
After high school at age 17, he joined the Marines during World War II. He served as a combat Marine in the South Pacific and was in North China for 37 months. He was discharged in 1949 and called back for 13 months during the Korean War.
In 1950, Bill met and married Pauline Mitchell from Orleans.
He farmed with his father for a short time and later bought his own farm in Orleans.
In 1956, he joined the Indiana State Police and was assigned to the Versailles District where he started his career. In 1957, he transferred to the Charlestown District and they moved to Scottsburg.
In 1958, he was involved in a car wreck that left him with broken legs and other injuries. After several weeks of recovery, he went back into police work, but he didn’t patrol the highways at the time. He worked in State Police Headquarters in Indianapolis. He also worked with training the new police recruits at Indiana University.
In 1961, the family moved to Greenwood. Three days after moving into their new house Bill was selected by Indiana State Police to attend the FBI National Academy in Washington D.C. for three months.
After the academy, he was promoted to lieutenant and served as commander of the Bloomington and Indianapolis posts. In 1975, he was assigned as commander of the State Police Training Section. In August 1977, Bill retired from the state police.
He worked for a short time for state welfare and later drove a school bus for Center Grove schools. After school bus driving, he drove a tour bus and did a lot of traveling throughout our great country, and many times Pauline traveled with him.
Bill leaves behind his loving wife of 65 years, Pauline (Mitchell) Sheeks; two children, Dianna (Allan) Bennis of Greenwood and Richard (Christine) Sheeks of Noblesville. One son, Donald, is deceased. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Chad, Brooke and Billy Bennis and Kelsey (Blake) Bylsma; and five great-grandchildren, Nai’a, Jonah, Aaron, Graham and Bailey.
Visitation will be 9:30 a.m. until the time of services at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at G.H. Herrmann Greenwood Funeral Home, 1605 South State Road 135. Burial will be at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.
Memorial contributions may be made to Mount Pleasant Christian Church, where he was a member, 381 N. Bluff Road, Greenwood, IN 46142; or to Harbor Light Hospice Cedar Green Road, 7164 Graham Road No. 150, Indianapolis, IN 46250.
Online condolences may be shared with the family at ghherrmann.com.
