William L. Webb

William L. Webb

William L. Webb, age 84, of Erie, passed on peacefully at the Soldiers and Sailors Home on Friday, February 13, 2015 after a brief illness. He was born February 4, 1931 in Smithfield, North Carolina, the son of the late Vollie and Sally Jean Brady Webb.

Bill grew up and attended school in Goldsboro, North Carolina, graduating from Goldsboro High School, where he excelled in baseball.

He was a United States Navy Veteran of the Korean War, serving proudly as a Gunner Mate E-3 on the USS Manchester during the battles of Inchon and Puson.

Bill retired from Gannon University Maintenance Department. He was a Locksmith by trade but he was a real "handyman" and could fix just about anything.

He liked to hunt and fish and spend time with family and friends. At family pig roasts he delighted in showing the "guys" how you chop up a pig in "North Carolina Style."

Bill and his wife were members of Fairview Senior Center, Life Works and Mercy Hill Top Center, enjoying games, socializing, line dancing and Wii Bowling. In 2010 he received the Sr. M. Gabriel Koch Award for volunteer work he did at the Mercy Hill Top Center.

He was a faithful member of Sacred Heart Church where he served as Hospitality Minister for 20 years.

Besides his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his first wife Geraldine L. DelPorto Webb. Their three children survive, Jonathan Webb (Cindy), Sand Springs, OK, James Webb, PhD., Lakewood, OH and Julie Borst, of Erie.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 23 years, Norma Hammar Webb, of Erie; three step-children who were proud to call him "Papa", Diane Will (Alan), Richard G. Hammar (Bridget) and Robert G. Hammar (Janice). He will be greatly missed.

Also surviving are a granddaughter Rose Webb of Arkansas and step-grandchildren Alana, Laura, Sarah, Jared, Richard L., Samantha, Robert and Michael; two great-grandsons, Tucker and Brandon. Several cousins in North Carolina and Virginia also survive.

Friends are invited to call at the John R. Orlando Funeral Home, Inc., 2122 Raspberry Street, on Wednesday from 3 to 8 p.m. and are invited to a Memorial Funeral Mass at Sacred Heart Church, 816 West 26th Street, at 10:30 a.m. Burial will take place in Wayne Memorial Park, Dudley, NC.

Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 1128 State Street, Erie, PA 16501.