William Trester Jr

William Trester Jr. 94, of Gladstone, Missouri passed away on Saturday, May 11, 2019. He was born August 15, 1924 in Armstrong Missouri to the late William and Phoebe (Lessley) Trester.

Bill graduated from Armstrong High School in 1942, he went to Wichita, Kansas and was employed by Cessna Aircraft. In 1943 he volunteered for the armed services and joining the Navy where he spent 33 months on active duty serving mostly overseas. Bill was wounded in combat in Okinawa 1945 in the South Pacific during World War II and awarded the Purple Heart at the US naval hospital at Norman, Oklahoma and was discharged in 1946.  He returned to Moberly, Missouri and was United in marriage to Lela Marilyn Taylor on September 7, 1948 and they were united in marriage for 65 years. He attended the University of Missouri from 1948 to 1951.

He moved to Kansas City where he was employed by Cook Paper Box North Kansas City. He was a member of the optimist club, Chamber of Commerce and spent his career as a salesman in the packaging industry for 41 years and retired in 1992. He was involved in farming since 1965 at Armstrong, Missouri and was known for his charming smile, witty sense of humor and outgoing personality. He never knew a stranger and was called a friend by all. Bill loved watching and discussing all sports, especially basketball and enjoyed attending numerous sporting events of his children and grandchildren as they grew up. Bill was a loving husband father, grandfather and great-grandfather and will be truly missed by all whom knew him.