William Allan “Bill” Malone

William Allan “Bill” Malone, age 89, of Bloomfield, left this earthly home on Monday, January 15, 2024 to be with his sons, grandson and other loved ones in Heaven with his beloved Lord and Savior following years of suffering from the affliction of aphasia that gradually destroyed his ability to speak and communicate verbally, followed by dementia. He was born on October 25, 1934 in Terre Haute to Henry William and Maudalene L. (Taylor) Malone.

Bill is survived by his loving wife of 70 years, Shirley A. (Shanklin) Malone of Bloomfield; precious granddaughter, Shayna (Seth) Chance of Olympia, Wash.; the only great-grandson, Rowan Chance; sisters-in-law, Sandy Ridge Fisher and Carolyn Gorney; nieces, Dawn (Joe) Huckaby, Ronda (Robert) Tezlaff and Pamela (Jerry) Heath; nephews, Terry (Kelly) Malone, Dennis (Penni) Jones and David (Miriam) Jones as well as a daughter-in-law, Karen A. Eli of Shelton, Wash..

He is preceded in death by his parents; two beloved sons, Steven Michael Malone and Timothy Patrick Malone, both in 2021 and his only grandson, Kyle Patrick Malone in 2023. Bill also felt great loss of his only brother, Leon Malone; sister-in-law Patricia Malone; niece, Judy Malone; brothers-in-law, Jack Ridge, Charles Jones and Albert Fisher as well as his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Ethel and Stanley Shanklin.

Bill was a graduate of the former Wiley High School in the class of 1952. He worked at American Optical until joining the U.S. Navy, proudly serving during the Korean War, attaining the rank of First Class Petty Officer before ending his four year enlistment. Twenty years of reserves followed active duty. Returning to civilian duty found him happy at Motor Freight Corp as vice president of operations, then lease and rental manager for Adams Pontiac and finally as the vice president of sales at Bloomfield Manufacturing until his retirement in 1995.

He was a member of the Terre Haute Transportation Club, Motor Carriers Association, General Motors Automobile Dealers Association, American Bowling Congress and was a life member of the Elks Lodge in Linton and Terre Haute. Among his loves was sports as he was an avid fan and supporter of the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Indiana State University and Indiana University, seldom missing TV coverage and attending games when possible. Bill was honored to be a member of the Sullivan Elks Rinky Dinks Golfing League for over 25 years and a life time bowler, having been a member of the 700 club.

Bill’s greatest love was his family, his God and friends. He believed with body and soul his duty, responsibility and only reward was to provide for, lead, cherish, love, honor and protect his family and give his best to God and his country. He believed in and loved his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and tried to serve Him to the best of his ability.

Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. at Welch & Cornett Funeral Home in Linton on Friday, January 19, 2024 with Pastor David Tyra officiating. Private burial will be observed by the family.

Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Friday from 12 p.m. until the time of service.

Memorial contributions may be made to Linton Elks Lodge 866 or to Elara Caring Hospice through the funeral home.

Online condolences may be shared with Bill’s family at www.welchcornett.com.