William “Billy” D. Blough, 77, of Chatham, formerly of Springfield, died at 10:22 pm, Sunday, September 29, 2024 at Springfield Memorial Hospital. He was born February 7, 1947 in Springfield, IL, the son of William and Rose (Dunham) Blough. He married Linda Hill December 4, 1971.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Linda; two children, Brandon (Tamara) Blough and Lindsay (William “Bill”) Mabie, Jr., both of Springfield; three grandchildren, Jackson Blough and Cannon and Chase Mabie; two sisters, Joyce (Michael) Welch of Chatham and Marti (Stan) Chapman of Springfield; one uncle, Thomas (Barbara) Blough of Springfield and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Bill graduated from Blessed Sacrament Grade School and Griffin High School. He attended Southern Illinois University before serving his country in Vietnam as a Combat Engineer from 1967-1969. Billy joined the Springfield Fire Department in 1972, retiring in 1999 as a Driver Engineer after 27 years of service.
After retirement, he and Linda split time between the Springfield area and the Fort Myers Beach area in Florida. At Gulf Waters Resort they made life-long friendships with people from all over the country. He was well known for his prowess in bags tournaments there, which he was happy to tell stories about.
Back in Springfield, he loved spending time with his friends, children and grandsons, and always looked forward to sharing beverages and conversations with his Tuesday afternoon crew at Spammy’s Tavern.
He was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and enjoyed fishing with friends. He was passionate about all types of car racing, traveling to watch whenever he could. At the end of each trip, he always looked forward to coming home to spend time with his best friend and love of his life, Linda.
Billy was a member of the Firefighters-Postal Lake Club, Elks Club, TRN Club, VFW and American Legion. He was proud to be a United States Army Veteran.
Graveside Service: 11:00 am, Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at Camp Butler National Cemetery with Reverend Daniel McGrath officiating and where military honors will be conducted.
Celebration of Life will be held on October 13, 2024, from 1 – 4 pm, at the Firefighters-Postal Lake Club.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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