John Wilfred Bedford

John Wilfred Bedford, 87, recently of Long Grove, IL and long-time resident of Winthrop Harbor, IL and Kenosha WI, passed away November 30, 2018 at Arboria of Long Grove after a long illness.

John was born December 19, 1930 in Spooner, WI to Anna and Albert Bedford and attended school in Spooner before joining the U.S. Air Force.  He was initially stationed in Texas and served as an air traffic controller, seeing active combat in that role during the Korean War.  John was employed as an industrial engineer for many years at Quaker Industries in Antioch, IL until his retirement in 1990 and thereafter worked part-time at Leader Hardware in Zion, IL.  He was a long-time member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and a rabid Green Bay Packers fan.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Elizabeth (Montgomery) Bill Bedford, and eight brothers and sisters.  John is survived by his two daughters, Debra (Jeff) Hoffman of Kildeer, IL and Caryl (Ken) Vehe of Deerfield IL, their mother, Jeanette Bedford, Elizabeth’s daughter, Barbara Bill Mueller, and five sons, Steven Bill, John Bill, Michael Bill, Joseph Bill, and James Shoenbill and their spouses and children, many nieces and nephews, and several grand dogs.

Visitation will be held on December 8, 2018 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1800 23rd Street, Zion, IL, followed immediately by funeral services and burial at Sunset Ridge Memorial Park, Kenosha, WI.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org) or to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.