William "Bill" D. Sinclair

William ‘Bill’ Dale Sinclair, age 60, of Albia, passed from this earth unexpectedly on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Bill was born on February 20, 1960 to John William ‘Bill’ and Doris Lucille Remy Sinclair at Monroe County Hospital in Albia, IA. He was welcomed home by his big sister Vicki Lynn. A year later a brother Bradley Alan completed their family. ‘Billy’ attended Washington Elementary School and was a proud Cub Scout. He made fast friends at school and spent many hours playing peewee ball and football in neighborhood backyards with his brother and friends, including the Garretts. He participated in a youth bowling league and had a paper route he shared with his brother. From the time he was old enough to pull the wire, he and Brad went along with their Dad on various wiring jobs. They would pull the chain to draw the wire through the walls and lend an extra hand for Dad. The work ethic was instilled. As a child, Billy spent nearly every weekend at his Grandpa and Grandma Sinclair’s farm near Bussey. The farm provided perfect opportunities to keep a young boy busy including chores, quail and rabbit hunting and developing a love of the outdoors. At Lincoln Middle School, Billy exceled at football, basketball and track. He was quick on the field, court and track. His 8th grade football team went undefeated and he was named Outstanding Middle School Male Athlete at 8th grade graduation. Entering high school in the fall of 1974, Bill was chosen as the freshman attendant for Homecoming. He participated in football, basketball and track in high school and also worked summers as a groundman at Chariton Valley REC. Bill was a 1978 graduate of Albia High School. Bill started full time at Chariton Valley REC as an apprentice just a few days after graduation, working his way up to first class lineman and eventually becoming a crew foreman and was the primary underground man. He joined the union in 1979 and was a proud member of IBEW Local 499 throughout his career. He thoroughly enjoyed traveling the countryside of southern Iowa especially being around Rathbun Lake and meeting many interesting people. During his senior year of high school in the fall of 1977, a freshman girl caught his eye. Dating for three and a half years, Bill married his high school sweetheart, Kendra Sue Flahive on July 4, 1981 at St. Mary’s Church in Albia. They enjoyed almost 39 years of marriage prior to his passing. The family grew as they welcomed daughters Abigail Maureen and Angela Mallory. He was a devoted and protective dad, never letting the little ones far from his sight. He proudly attended more than his share of dance recitals and endured slumber parties in their home. He grew to love girls’ sports and spent countless hours on bleachers over the years. He was always there to guide his girls, providing encouragement and advice even when they didn’t want to hear it. He instilled a tremendous work ethic in them both and wanted nothing more than for them to be happy, productive adults. His pride and love for them was unending. Bill was an avid outdoorsman, who said that any day spent outdoors was a good day. From an early age, Bill enjoyed fishing and when he was old enough, he got to go along bird hunting, sharing his Grandpa Sinclair’s single barrel 410 with his brother. Many a fall weekend found Bill in a duck blind and in the field pursuing his passion of hunting pheasant and quail, always with a bird dog by his side. Whether it was deer, turkey, rabbit or squirrel, hunting kept him busy September through January. Bill also enjoyed trapping, ice fishing and his most recent love was dove hunting. He had many fond memories of time spent hunting & fishing with family. Bill spent countless hours working with and training mules, a hobby he picked up in the past 20 years. He found satisfaction in developing both their skills and his. His love for mules led to adventures out west where he and Kendra rode to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and a few years later took part in a week long ride in national parks in Utah. After 29 years Bill’s career at REC was cut short as an injury suffered on the job didn’t allow him to continue the work he loved. He spent the next few years enjoying the farmstead he and Kendra built together in 2005, working with the mules, helping out on the in-laws farm and finding things to tinker with. In August 2013, he was hired as Maintenance Director for Albia Housing Agency where he maintained 40 public housing units at Parkview Village and other sites. He was hesitant about this role, but he knew it involved quite a bit of outdoor work so he took a chance. It didn’t take long for him to get a sense of making a difference in many people’s lives and he took great pride in taking care of the grounds. Bill had a special place in his heart for kids. His nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews were often the recipient of his teasing, but also his attention. At any family gathering, he’d beeline straight to the kids, doing his famous 2 knuckle pinch on their cheeks or blowing raspberries and making them laugh. As they grew older, he was the first to strike up a conversation or head outside with them to play. Sayings and words of wisdom were always an integral part of his daily life. He could easily quote the words of his old man from his childhood and he was always listening when his mentors were speaking in the early years at the REC. Bill’s advice to all: Never take yourself too seriously; Always do the right thing, even when no one is watching; Never ask a lazy man to do anything, he’s always too busy; and most importantly, Don’t let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy. He is survived by his wife Kendra; his daughters Abbey Sinclair of Pleasant Hill and Angie Wells of Altoona; his father Bill Sinclair; a sister Vicki (Craig) Buckingham; a brother, Brad (Terri) Sinclair; his mother and father-in-law Jim and Diane Flahive; Brother-In-Law Jeff (LinAnn) Flahive; Sister-In-Laws Lisa (Marty) Hermsen; Sarah (Adam) Scieszinski; Susan Leshen. He was Uncle Billy to Jer (Velvet), Josh (Jody) and Justin (Amanda) Buckingham; Klint (Reba) Sinclair; Brandi (Bil) Austin; Nash, Fischer, Beau and Lily Buckingham; Paisley & Palmer Sinclair; Bradyn & Olivia Austin; Collin & Cadin Buckingham. He was Uncle Bill to Pason (Brooke), Landon & Dawson Hermsen; Emily, Jessica & Daniel (Sydney) Flahive; Gannon Steffen; Chase (Sara) & Carson Farrell; Cash Hall; Wil Scieszinski; Elizabeth Diane, Olivia Rose ‘Sissy’ and Priscilla Ann Farrell. He was preceded in death by his mother, Doris Sinclair; a son-in-law, Chad Wells, his grandparents, Dale and Jesse Remy and Kenneth and Lena Sinclair and brothers-in-law Christopher Hall and Kirk Leshen. Visitation will be held from 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, 2020, at the Tharp Funeral Home in Albia, with Bill’s family present to greet family and friends. Due to the current State of Public Health Disaster Emergency, the visitation will be limited to ten individuals in the building at a time. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, May 18, 2020, outdoors at the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Albia, with Les Bettis officiating. Burial will follow services in the Hiteman Cemetery in Hiteman, IA. Memorials may be directed to the family and will be used to support various youth hunting and fishing organizations.

William "Bill" D. Sinclair

February 20, 1960 - May 5, 2020