William (Bill) Honnor was born July 5, 1941, to A. W. and Dorothy (King) Honnor in Falls City, NE, and passed away February 4, 2025 in Lincoln, NE.

Bill lived in Lincoln for 50 years and attended Lincoln Public Schools graduating in 1959 from Lincoln High.  He signed a minor league baseball contract with the San Francisco Giants the summer of 1959 and played pro ball for two years.  After pro ball he played baseball and softball in Lincoln and the surrounding area.

Other athletic honors include:
1956 — Most outstanding baseball player in Lincoln
1962 — Most valuable player, best pitching and hitting records in the Lincoln Elks League
1998 — Honored Basketball Team Recognition by Lincoln High School Hall of Fame
2007 — Inducted into the Nebraska Amateur Softball Hall of Fame
2008 — Golden Anniversary Team Lincoln High 1959 basketball team recognized by Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame

Bill worked at Gerry’s Sport Shop for 13 years before going to work at Norden Labs/Pfizer for 24 years, retiring in February 2001.  Bill married Phyllis Rice on July 5, 1992, and then moved to Waco.  After retiring he was a volunteer at Centennial Public Schools, where his wife retired after 34 years of teaching and coaching.   His goal in volunteering was to show love to all the kids and hoped to improve the life of at least one child every year.  Bill also served on the Waco town board and served in many capacities at the Waco United Methodist Church where he and Phyllis were members until its closure in 2021.  Bill and Phyllis enjoyed helping older people in the Waco and York area.   In February 2021 they moved to Lincoln and became members of the St. Mark’s UMC.

He would like to say “Thank you” to all the Centennial students for making his life complete.  God bless you all.  A special thanks to some special people in his life:   Nancy Murphy, Owen Kellogg, and Audrey Driefurst.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Phyllis; three sons Mark (Lisa), Bryan (Sue) and Matthew all of Lincoln; three grandchildren Ashton Honnor, Thomassen Honnor, and Kallio (Isaac) Needham and great grandson Ian Needham of Auburn, NE; sisters-in-law Shirley Rice of Lincoln and Lewie (Verne) Wiese of Dayton, OH; several nephews, nieces, cousins and many friends.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his parents-in-law Howard and Frieda Rice, his sister and brother-in-law Bev and Larry Sinner, his daughter-in-law Sara, nephew Gary Wieting and many aunts and uncles.

In lieu of flowers please donate to a charity of your choice or to Jr. Saltdogs, Waco Community Scholarship, Centennial Foundation, the Nebraska Softball Hall of Fame, or St. Mark’s UMC.

Services will be at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Lincoln on Monday February 10, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. The Family will be greeting friends between 1:00 & 3:00 on Sunday February 9, 2025 at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church upper fellowship hall on the south side, door 8 and 9. Streamed through St.Marks.org.

Private interment in the Waco Cemetery at a later date.

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