Obituary of William Hetherington
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William I. Hetherington passed away on December 13, 2013 at his home in Austin, TX at age 81 from complications due to COPD.
Bill was born February 11, 1932 in Iowa City, Iowa, to Howard L. Hetherington and Dorothy Templeman Hetherington (later Wuestenberg).
He grew up in West Liberty, IA, attended the West Liberty Public Schools and was a member of the WLHS graduating class of 1950.
He attended the University of Iowa; in February 1955, he received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and was commissioned a reserve officer in the United States Air Force. Following two years of Air Force active duty, he returned to Iowa City and, in 1968, was awarded an MA Degree in Education.
He was married to Joyce A. Meyer of Muscatine, Iowa on August 8, 1954 at Muscatine’s Zion Lutheran Church. They had one son, Thomas W. Hetherington, now residing in Cedar Park, TX.
During his high school years, he developed a photography hobby. That hobby grew to become the “bill payer” for his college education and subsequently defined his life’s work at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, in the U.S. Public Health Service and with the U.S. Army Medical Department. In 1968, he was elected an Associate Member of the American Dental Association in recognition of his contributions to Dentistry and Dental education.
Throughout his life, building and woodworking held a special fascination for him; following his retirement from work with the Army, he did sales work for a number of years with a well known San Antonio lumber and hardware wholesaler. That affiliation nurtured the growth of his woodworking interest into a state of art home woodworking shop. He leaves behind a number of computer desks, bookcases and other specialty furniture items that were built in that shop.
His great interests in life were scenic photography, woodworking, and his family including his two grandchildren who completely captured his affection. He is survived by his son Tom, daughter-in-law Joan, grandson Benjamin and granddaughter Susan.
Final arrangements are pending at Henderson-Barker Funeral Home in West Liberty with burial to take place at a later date