William "Bill" Mortland

William "Bill" Mortland, 68, of Mt. Pleasant, IA, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. Visitation will be held from 12-6 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, 2014, at the Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel where the family will receive friends from 2-5 p.m. that afternoon. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 10, 2014 at the Memorial Chapel with Chaplin Jim Luder officiating. Interment will be at Forest Home Cemetery with military rites by members of the 224th Engineer Battalion of the Iowa National Guard. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Wounded Warriors Project. Born May 2, 1945 in Oskaloosa, IA, William Lee was the son of Charles William and Enid Evelyn (Boughton) Mortland. He graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1964. He attended classes at Southeastern Community College where he acquired several welding certifications. On May 23, 1970 he married Linda J. Richards. Bill joined the National Guard 224th Engineer Battalion in 1965. He was the First Sergeant of Delta Company in Mt. Pleasant. During Desert Storm he was stationed in Germany. After serving his country for 31 years, he retired from the National Guard in 1996. A talented welder, Bill was first employed at Bill Sater's Welding Shop. He later partnered in a business known as M H Services with Dave Hassenfritz. He excelled with designing equipment that served a purpose for a variety of companies. One such design was a piece of equipment for the Sterzing's Potato Chip Company in Burlington, IA. He also helped his friend, Russell Kozak, with commercial fishing on the Mississippi River. With a sense of humor, Bill was known for giving nicknames to his friends and acquaintances. His work was his hobby. He used his talent to build race cars, sprint cars and dragsters, and he attended races at Eddyville and Burlington. He was fond of refurbishing tractors and attended many tractor pulls. He especially loved spending time with his beloved horse, Cheyenne. Survivors include his wife, Linda of Mt. Pleasant, IA; his mother, Enid Mortland of Mt. Pleasant, IA; a step-son, Charles (Barb) Denham of Ottumwa, IA; four step-grandchildren; one step-great grandchild; two sisters, Carma (George) Reiss of Van Horne, IA and Shirley (Ben) Flam of New London, IA; a nephew, Robin (Jill) Daniel of Mt. Pleasant, IA; two nieces, Sarah Reiss of Van Horne, IA and Heather (Shane) Mell of Atkins, IA; four great nieces and nephews; three sisters-in-law, Mary (Tim) Schaub of Florida, Marilyn Richards of Ottumwa, IA and Debra (Bob) Van Der Snick of Mt. Pleasant, IA; and a brother-in-law, Ronald Richards of Newton, IA. Preceding Bill in death is his father; and grandparents.