William "Bill" E. Mehrtens

CARBONDALE- William "Bill" Eugene Mehrtens of Carbondale was born May 6, 1951 in Teaneck, New Jersey to Eugene and Beverly (Stark) both deceased. He passed on from brain cancer on December 10, 2012. He has a son Alex and daughter Annika (Clint) Spratley with his wife Angela Kazakevicius. He has 2 brothers Steven (Deidre) and Eric, 4 sisters Karen, Lisa, Jennifer and Amanda. He has numerous nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews and dear cousins Linda and Jorge Gonzalez. Bill was a graduate of SIU-C, receiving a B.S. Degree in Zoology and Organic Chemistry in 1972, and then attending graduate school specializing in Entomology. He was an advocate for policemen, attended Woodstock, ran the George McGovern Presidential campaign in Jackson County, helped organize the Southern Illinois Irish Festival and, in1976, and with the late Jim Fralish and David Wade helped establish Carbondale Soccer, Inc. When Fralish and Wade moved on to establish the girls' and the boys' soccer programs at Carbondale Community High School, Bill took a different route and became an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) soccer referee. He continued to referee even through knee problems until very recently. He was a founding member and served as Treasurer for the Little Egypt Soccer Officials Association. Bill was soccer referee for 32 years. His desire was to make sure the youth of the region had fun and played in fair games with competent supervision. When not working the games as a referee Bill could be seen on "the assessors' bench" cheering on the players and even when his illness forced him into a wheelchair he still made sure Angela would bring him to the games so he could visit his fellow referees and friends on the sidelines. His advice and comments were always welcome and he will be sorely missed. Bill was a deputy sheriff from the Jackson County Sheriff's Department from 1975 to 1988, He served as a patrol officer, the range officer, training officer, and assisted in computerizing traffic and accident analysis for the department. Bill helped found the Jackson County Deputy Sheriff's Association in 1976, and served as the charter president. In 1983, he helped establish the Jackson County F.O.P. Lodge #117, and served as its' charter president. Soon after getting involved with the F.O.P., he helped organize lodges throughout Southern Illinois. In 1986, Bill was elected to the State Lodge Executive Board as Chaplain, and has held a state office ever since. Bill's primary responsibility on behalf of the State Lodge was tracking National Legislation, and he served as the Illinois Chairman of the Grassroots Action Network. He has led the Illinois delegation each year to the annual Day on the Hill lobbying effort sponsored by the Grand Lodge. Bill was appointed to the Grand Lodge's Legislative Committee by President Chuck Canterbury. In 1988, he retired to accept a full-time position with the Illinois Fraternal Order of the Police Labor Council, where he continued to work as a Field Representative for police departments in southern Illinois. Bill was on the front lines to protect the rights of every man and woman whoever put on a badge. He often researched police officers killed in the line of duty to make sure they were recognized on the Illinois and National Police Memorials. Bill also served on the Executive Board of the St. Louis Gateway Chapter of the Industrial Relations Research Association, the nation's largest chapter in this labor-management association, and was a member of the Chicago-based German-American Police Association and Southern Illinois MENSA. The family would like to give thanks to the caring and compassionate treatment of Bill at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, Helia Healthcare staff, Dr. Ana Migone, Dr. Jeffery Jones and Dr. George Kao. Memorials are the preferred form of remembrance. The family suggests the National Law Enforcement Museum (nleomf.org/museum), The Mehrtens' Young Soccer Referee Scholarship or SIU Zoology Darwin Week. Services will be at 3:00 pm, Saturday, December 15, 2012 in the Carbondale Civic Center. Visitation will be from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday at Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale.



Service:



3:00 p.m. Saturday, December 15, 2012



Carbondale Civic Center Carbondale, Illinois







Visitation:



11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 15, 2012



Meredith Funeral Home Carbondale, Illinois