Bill Lingle’s Memorial
Bill was a father, a husband, a friend, a mentor, a coach, and a role model.
He passed away after battling covid-19 on December 24th at the University of Iowa hospital.
Bill met his future wife Char in 1979 and was married in 1986. They were married for 34 years. It was always known that when there was Char, there was Bill, and when there was Bill, there was Char. They were inseparable and loved each other very deeply.
Bill was an amazing father. He lived by the credo that “any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.” He had two biological sons, Travis and Derek. He also had seven adopted children, John, Nick, Benny, Alex, Jasmine, Emma and Kyra. Along with his wife, Char, they fostered countless of other children in need. He opened his home and his heart for all kids that were in his presence.
He loved coaching. He coached Little League baseball, Bronco league baseball, school flag football, Pony baseball, travel basketball, youth tackle football for the Davenport school system, Friendly House basketball, and travel baseball for the Quad City Heat in which he won a state tournament the very first year he coached.
He loved driving. Many of his professions involved driving. He raced stock cars, drove semis, drove parcel, and drove kids for the Davenport School system until he retired. If he was in his Ford Aerostar and someone came up next to him in a modified drag car at a red light, he still thought he could take him and many times tried.
He stayed busy after retirement working on baseball fields that he helped build for programs that he helped form and are still going to this day, the Quad City Bronco League and the Quad City Heat baseball club. He also took care of the softball fields for the Davenport Little League softball program.
He also loved fishing, working on cars, driving on nice summer nights, watching Hawkeye sports and all the Chicago professional teams, but mostly loved watching his children and grand-children play.
He firmly believed and made sure to mention in his later years that he wanted to make the world a better place, and we believe he did.