Willard L. “Bill” Ketner, 91, of Avon Park, Fla., formerly of Terre Haute and West Terre Haute, died Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, at the Palms of Sebring, Fla. Bill was born in West Terre Haute, in 1919, son of Mary and John Ketner. He was a 1937 graduate of Valley High School in West Terre Haute. He graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, in 1944. He married Alice Mildred Buchanan in 1940. Bill began his career as a shipping clerk at Visking Corporation in 1945, and was soon appointed personnel manager. He continued to advance through the ranks after Visking was purchased by Union Carbide Corporation and was transferred to Chicago as employee relations manager, Films Packaging Division in 1959. He retired from Union Carbide Corporation, in Chicago, in 1984 after 39 years service.
He pastored two churches, New Hope Baptist Church in Clay City, and 1st Prairie Creek Baptist Church in Prairie Creek, prior to his relocation to the Chicago area. His activities and contributions were varied and many. During his residency in Terre Haute he was active in the Terre Haute Jaycees and in various community projects and fund raising events for the Jaycees. He was one of the organizers of the Midwest College Basketball Tournament held for many years at what was then known as Indiana State Teachers College. He was a member of the Terre Haute Personnel Club and the Vigo County School Board. He officiated high school and college basketball throughout the State of Indiana, and recruited for college programs throughout the Vigo County area. In 1983, Bill was appointed Honorary Mayor of Kentland. He was honored by Indiana Gov. Bob Orr and presented the title of Sagamore of the Wabash on Feb. 7, 1984. Pete Chalos, mayor of Terre Haute, proclaimed May 21, 1987 as W.L. (Bill) Ketner Day for his contributions to the community. Rose Hulman Institute acknowledged him for 40 years of contribution in athletics, financial aid and placement. He served on the Board of Trustees of Taylor University in Upland from 1968-1978, and was honored in 1983 for outstanding training programs provided to business and accounting students for two decades. Purdue University’s Placement Office honored him for his assistance in placement of graduates from 1945-1984.
Other honors bestowed on Bill were: receipt of key to the City of Centerville, Iowa, in 1964; the Arkansas Traveler by Gov, Winthrop Rockefeller in 1970; recognized by University of Arkansas as a Distinguished Friend of the University in 1970; commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel by Kentucky Gov. Julian M. Carroll in 1977; appointed Arkansas Traveler by then-Gov. Bill Clinton in 1979; appointed Honorary Mayor of City of Pauls Valley, Okla., in 1980; awarded title of Honorary Citizen of Oklahoma by Gov. George Nigh in 1983; appointed Honorary Mayor of Osceola, Ark., in 1983; appointed Colonel Aide de Camp of the Governor’s Staff by Gov. Lamar Alexander of the State of Tennessee in 1983.
Bill served as executive director of the Avon Park Chamber of Commerce from 1984-1987. He also chaired many fundraising events for Walker Memorial Hospital in Avon Park.
Bill received the Citizen of the Year Award from the Avon Park Chamber of Commerce, 1988. He was a member of Rotary International in Avon Park, served as sergeant-at-arms (1987-88), president (1991-93) and was a Paul Harris Fellow, he was again recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow in 2009. He was appointed a member of the Sebring Utilities Commission and served 1991-1993. Bill sat on the board of the Highlands County, Fla., Salvation Army for many years. He also held offices in the River Greens Home Owners Association from 1998 until 2006.
Bill was preceded in death by his loving wife of 67 years, Alice M. (Pard) in 2007. He is survived by his children, Judith A. Ketner and her former husband Robert L. Wolff of Avon Park, David L. Ketner and wife Claudia of Marietta Ga.; three grandsons, Todd J. Ketner and wife Kristi of Birmingham, Ala., Jay A. Ketner and wife Elizabeth of Plattsburgh N.Y., and Lane B. Ketner and wife Julie of Atlanta. He also is survived by his brother, George (Hank) Ketner, and sister, Marjorie Long, both of Terre Haute; several nieces and nephews; and his brother-in-law, Wayne E. Buchanan Jr. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, Helen Wyatt and Martha Switzer; and his brother, John W. Ketner.
Visitation will be 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, at Morris Funeral Chapel, 307 S. Commerce Ave., in Sebring. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010, at the funeral chapel. Burial will follow at Lakeview Memorial Gardens, Avon Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the W. L. “Bill” Ketner Memorial, Taylor University, 236 Reade Ave., Upland, IN 46989.
