William "Bill" Adolph England

William "Bill" England, 86, of Keystone Heights, FL passed away after a brief illness on January 7, 2014. He was born on February 12, 1927 to parents, Adolph Peter and Helen Wipperman England in Milwaukee, WI. Bill was a longtime resident of Clay County and a member of Harbor Baptist Church. He served his country honorably in the United States Navy and was a veteran of WW II, Korea and Vietnam, retired. Bill worked for Milwaukee Railroad as a machinist and retired civil service at NAS Jax and was a member of the Fleet Reserve, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans. He was a volunteer with the Northeast Florida Chapter of the American Red Cross for more than 20 years. Bill specialized in the area of Mass Care, handling the oversight of food preparation and distribution for large and small disasters both in Northeast Florida and nationwide. In addition to his countless local disaster operations, Bill volunteered on 36 national relief assignments for the Red Cross, including Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina and Wilma; the recovery and support operations associated with the 9/11 attacks; and many tornadoes and flood operations across the nation. Locally, Bill served as a member of the Clay County Disaster Action Team, responding to local house fires, floods and other family emergencies. He was qualified as an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) driver and also coordinated Chapter ERV operations and trained new vehicle crews for the region. As a leadership volunteer and expert in the field of Mass Care, Bill was an integral part of Red Cross exercises and drills throughout North Florida. He was very generous with his time and talents, serving as mentor and instructor for the next generation of Red Cross volunteers. Through his strong community connections and reputation for selfless service, Bill also served as an ambassador for Red Cross, able to bring together local nonprofit agencies, faith groups and his many friends whenever the situation required. He also was a volunteer with the Clay County Sheriff's office in Penney Farms and Keystone Heights. Bill was predeceased by his parents and his loving wife of 62 years, June England and is survived by 3 children, Sandra E. Lugo, David England and Hollie England; brother, Alfred “Bud” England; 2 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in his memory to Harbor Baptist Church, 1120 Clay St, Fleming Island, FL 32003. A visitation will be on Thursday, January 9, 2014 from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm in the Broadus-Raines Chapel. A graveside service will be on Friday January 10, 2014 at 10:30 am at the Jacksonville National Cemetery, 4083 Lannie Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32218. Please sign the family’s online register book at www.broadusraines.com. Arrangements are under the care of Broadus-Raines Funeral Home, 501 Spring St., Green Cove Springs, FL (904) 284-4000.