William "Bill" Misko, 88, of Dubuque died peacefully on Friday, March 16, 2018. Visitation will be Saturday, March 24 from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm at the Egelhof, Siegert and Casper Westview Funeral Home, 2659 Kennedy Road. Funeral services will be at 1:00 pm at the funeral home, with military rites immediately following at the chapel at Linwood Cemetery.

Bill was born on June 22, 1929 in Martins Ferry, Ohio to Sam Sr. and Tessianna (Gudza) Misko. Bill proudly served in the Air Force during the Korean War, working as a weatherman and earning the rank of Staff Sargeant. Following his discharge, Bill attended The Ohio State University on the GI Bill and graduated with a degree in Animal Science in 1957. While a student at Ohio State, he met his future wife of 54 years, Constance "Connie" Walters. They were married in Cleveland, Ohio on December 18, 1954. Connie and Bill moved to Iowa in the late 50's and had resided in Dubuque since1963.

Bill was a meat grader for the Dubuque Packing Company for over 20 years. He then worked as a meat grader for the US Government, grading and ensuring meat safety for public school lunches. After retiring, he begrudgingly joined Connie on trips to Europe, Russia and Alaska, as well as numerous bus trips around the United States, where it turned out he very much enjoyed himself.

Bill was a member of the Dubuque Garden Club and was an early volunteer for what became the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, where he planted many of the trees and plants that are still appreciated today. When his children were young he enjoyed putting them to work in the garden and taking them fishing. He looked forward to taking his family on annual trips to destinations across the United States, usually pulling the family camper behind. Bill loved talking about the weather, his days in the Air Force, the best route to take to any destination, his fruit trees (especially pears) and his garden, but the great love of his life was his family, for whom he would and did do anything.

Bill is survived by his four children, Aleeda (Terry) Duggan of Dubuque; Craig (Cathy) Misko of Prior Lake, MN; Doug (LeAnn) Misko of Chicago, IL and Eric (Stephanie) Misko of Dubuque; grandchildren Connor and Aleece Duggan; Kyle, Tyler and Nicole Misko and Ariel (Dallas) Ebersviller and Blake Misko; great-grandchildren Gracie Olsen and Owen, Evalyn and Ivan Ebersviller; a sister, Olga Heslop and companion Colleen Van Dee. He was preceeded in death by his wife Connie; his parents; four sisters, Olga Misko (in infancy), Katherine Dona, Ann Misko and Rose Yandora; and four brothers, Steve (in infancy), Sam Jr., Peter and Henry "Andy" (Doke) Misko.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Bill's honor to the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation, P.O. Box 871847, Kansas City, MO 64187-1847 or the Dementia Society of America, P.O. Box 600, Doylestown, PA 18901.

Bill's family would like to thank the staff at Stonehill Care Center, and especially those on 3 North, for their wonderful care of Bill for the past ten months. Bill's family would also like to thank his companion Colleen for providing Bill with a great deal of happiness during the last part of his life.