Earnest Elmer “Bill” Mecham – April 30, 2020

March 28, 1921 – April 30, 2020

   Earnest Elmer “Bill” Mecham, a Colorado Springs resident since 1970, passed away Thursday, April 30, 2020.  He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

   Bill was born on March 28, 1921 to William Earnest Mecham and Sarah Jane (Morris) Mecham in Upalco, Utah.   He was married to Dorris Elizabeth “Liz” Seiple for over 60 years and was sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple. 

      He is survived by: four sons Weston, Ron (Rita), Cary (Christine), and Michael (Susan); a daughter, Gloria Shaw; a sister, Jessie Farnsworth; 18 grandchildren; 43 great-grandchildren; and 9 great-great grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Liz; brothers, Morris and Tom; and his sister, Dorothy.

   Bill served his country proudly as a U.S. Army Air Corps flight engineer on a B-24 Liberator and top turret gunner with the 449th Bomb Squadron in Italy and Africa (completing 51 combat missions), the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War. Bill kept a journal of his military missions during WWII and in his later years put all his WWII experiences into a booklet. This provided firsthand the details of the missions he flew. He retired with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, specializing in aircraft maintenance supervision. After retiring from the military, Bill tried his hand at selling cars and found out he had quite the knack at it, as he liked to study the mechanics under the hood and driveline.  During his time as a car salesman, he was top salesman many times for the month/year and earned numerous awards and trips.

   Bill was a lifetime member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in numerous positions during his life.  He loved the church and his duties immensely. He enjoyed genealogy work and spent countless hours doing research. Well-read and could discuss almost any topic with various degrees of knowledge.

   Bill loved his “girl” Liz and was a compassionate attentive husband to her. He was a very sharp dresser, thanks to his Liz. He enjoyed grilling out in the summertime.  His grilled chicken was the best.  He also perfected oatmeal raisin cookies and baked them by the dozens, when the mood struck. He loved the outdoors and could be found working in his yard from sunup to sundown during the spring and summer months. He also preferred tomatoes fresh off the vine and had a strong desire to grow his own, but with the short season in Colorado Springs, it was a constant challenge. Even trying a homemade greenhouse, planting them along the fence and even tried the upside-down tomatoes “as seen on tv.”  Nothing seemed to pan out.

   Bill and Liz loved animals and always had a dog.  We often joked that their dogs had quite the life and were fed as good as guests. Bill could fix anything, even if most folks would have replaced it and moved on.  It also usually entailed lots of grease including tow hitches, bearings, wheels and anything else that moved.  Although he was always looking ahead at what he would do or accomplish at 99 years young his body was coming to an end and it was time to go home. Bill had great pride in his military service and will be missed as the Patriarch of his family and his very keen dry sense of humor.