SIOUX CITY | William O. "Wild Bill" Sylvester, 73, of Sioux City passed away Friday, July 13, 2012, at his home.
Services will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church. The Rev. Michael Erpelding will officiate. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. today, with a vigil service at 7 p.m., at Larkin Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home.
Bill was born on Aug. 12, 1938, in Sioux City, the son of Donald C. and Rosella (Higgins) Sylvester. He attended Cathedral Grade School and graduated from Heelan High School in 1956.
He married Karen McFarland in 1959 and later married Diane Freiburger in 1986. Bill spent nine years with Painter’s local union in Sioux City. He then started his own painting business, Wild Bill’s Painting. He worked in Sioux City, Arizona, Nevada, and California. In 1983, he painted for the Southern Cal Edison Power Plant in Nevada. That is where he met Diane.
He had been very active as a friend of Bill W. for 29 years.
He is survived by his children, Jeff Cooper of Minnesota, Michelle Tatsumi of Arizona, William, John, Jim and Tim, all of Sioux City; three grandchildren, T.J., Nathan, and Christopher; two sisters and their husbands, Jean and Ed Morken of Henderson, Nev., and Mary and Mitchell Kulawik of Sioux City; two sisters-in-law, Marlys Sylvester of Sioux City, and Barbara Sylvester of York, Neb.; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Donald and Robert; and a nephew, Robert.