William Andy Webb

William Andy Webb, better known as Willie, was born January 31, 1947 in Sullivan, Missouri, to Frank and Bernice (Hickinbotham) Webb. Willie spent his life in Sullivan and lived every second of it with big emotions and a lot of love.

Willie was a perfectly imperfect, complicated man with a life well lived. It was the imperfections that made him whole. Similar to one of his beloved movies, his life played out in scenes with real, authentic ups and downs. Like any protagonist he learned, grew, and loved throughout his movie.

Scene 1: gave him love and life lessons from his parents and Grandma and Grandpa Webb. He was blessed with lifelong friends and siblings, Tom and Janet. His childhood brought heartbreak, but it also brought an immense amount of love and the foundation for his career and talents. Willie was a small child when he was given an Erector Set for Christmas. From that gift he discovered his God given talent of working with his hands, creating, and building. It was here, too, where a soft spot for animals was found. His dog, Puddy, was so impactful he reminisced about him well into his 70s.

In scene 2: he was given the gift of children, Scott and Leighanne. There he taught Scott many life lessons that cannot be summed up in verse, but rather chapter form. At this time, he developed a passion in photography where he made sure Leighanne had many photos of herself with unique effects and filters. There are also many selfies of Willie, as he was taking selfies before selfies were cool. Willie spent this time working as a union electrician, millwright, and welder at Callaway County Nuclear Power Plant and Meramec Mines. After the mines shut down, he went on to repair heavy equipment and maintained machinery for heavy production operations. It was also in this scene that his dad remarried and Willie gained many new bonus family members whom he loved dearly.

Scene 3: brought the love of his life, Brenda. In marrying Brenda, he gained a son, Ryan, and daughter, Christina. When speaking of his new blended family, he made sure to always say, “There is no mine or yours. They are all ours. None of this ‘step’ business.”

His life movie was nearly over during this scene. Willie was diagnosed with a hereditary liver disease and subsequently received a liver transplant, giving us 22 more years with him. During this extra time, we learned how scrappy, resilient, tough, talented, and sometimes gruff Willie was. He insisted on doing everything the hard way, watched a lot of Sci-Fi movies with the volume entirely too loud, and made everyone laugh with his “Willie-isms” and pure joy. Willie was once asked how much it would cost to repair a car, to which he replied, “How much does a black dog weigh?”

This is where his life deviates from a movie. Life is messy and complicated to the end. Willie embraced that every day, but he loved big and loved hard. He was always quick to witness, invite people to church, and learn about their lives. Willie never met a stranger, often saying, “You have to be a friend to have a friend.”

His family would be remiss not to remind others to consider being an organ donor. You never know what impact that will make.

Willie is survived by his loving wife, Brenda, of Stanton, MO; his children: Scott and Paula Webb of Sullivan, MO, LeighAnne and Ronnie Gargus of Bourbon, MO, Ryan and Michelle Boyer of Portland, OR and Christina and Ricky Parsons of Sullivan, MO; a brother, Tom Webb and wife Charlotte of Holt Summit, MO; a sister, Janet Bolling of Sullivan, MO; 10 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank Webb & Bernice Hamby; paternal grandparents, Clarence and Mazie Webb; maternal grandparents, Harry and Amelia Hickinbotham; and a niece, Mendy Webb.

Funeral Services was held at 12 p.m., Thursday, December 16, 2021 at Temple Baptist Church with Pastors Scott Perry & Jeff Peters officiating. Interment followed at Anaconda Cemetery in St. Clair.

Visitation was held at 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., on Thursday, December 16, 2021 at Temple Baptist Church.

Friends may send their online condolences to Willie’s family at www.eatonfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Mid-America Transplant. https://www.midamericatransplant.org/our-foundation/donate-online.

All arrangements were under the care of the Eaton Funeral Home and Cremation Center of Sullivan.