William "Bill" J. Camp

Deacon William "Bill" Camp, 86 of Elgin, NE, passed away Saturday, August 24, 2024 at The Josie Harper Hospice House in Omaha, NE.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, August 30, 2024 at St. Boniface Church in Elgin, NE with Rev. John Norman officiating. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery with military honors by American Legion Post 229, VFW Post 5816 and the Air Force Funeral Honors Team. Visitation will be 5:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday at the church, with a 7:00 p.m. wake service.

Memorials are suggested to the Elgin Rescue Squad at PO Box 240, Elgin, NE 68636 or the Josie Harper Hospice House at 7415 Cedar Street, Omaha, NE 68124

Levander Funeral Home of Elgin is in charge of arrangements.

William Joseph Camp, son of Jerome and Louise (Seier) Camp was born on March 7, 1938, at home on a hill west of Elgin. At the age of one, Bill moved with his family to Petersburg where he grew up and attended St. John the Baptist Catholic School for 12 years. After graduation, Bill enlisted in the US Air Force where he spent four years on active duty in California, Wyoming, Florida, and Okinawa, Japan. Upon returning home he helped his dad with the farm before starting to farm on his own. Bill met the love of his life in 1960, and married Phyllis (Lordemann) September 4, 1961 at St. John the Baptist Church in Petersburg. Bill and Phyllis bore six children: Gerry, Alan, Marian, Joan, Evelyn and Lori.

While farming and working with his father, Bill was ran over by a combine, dislocating his collar bone, and recovery allowed him to quit smoking. In 1962, Bill and Phyllis purchased and began farming land west and south of Elgin for the next 20 years. He began working at the Elgin Farmers Co-Op lumber yard in 1978, where he worked for the next 23 years before retiring in 2002. While working for Farmers, he was injured on the job where he severed part of his right hand in 1999.

On November 7, 1998, Bill was ordained a Deacon of the Catholic Church. He was encouraged to do so by the words of Sr. Anella Salber, who told him, "You don't have to be perfect; you don't have to do great things. All our Lord asks is that we do our best, trust Him and He will do for us as He did for others while walking on this earth. We can't do it all, but with the Lord in our corner it is a win-win situation."  He and Phyllis were in charge of the children's bulletins from 1994-2024, taught baptism classes for 20 years, and trained altar servers. Bill was a robust volunteer where he assisted in laying the new wood floors in the St. Boniface Gym in 1995, served on the board at Tintern Retreat and Resource Center from 1997-2024, and was nominated as the Knights of Columbus family of the month in September 1998.Together with his wife, they taught CCD for 12 years, was on the St. Boniface parish council for 20 years, and volunteered at the Elgin Bargain Box for 10 years from 2014-2024. Bill enjoyed playing cards, tearing things apart to see how they worked and fixing anything he could. He loved his garden, baking and cooking, chopping wood for winter heat, and traveling to Branson. Bill loved his family and faith.

Bill is survived by his wife of 62 years, Phyllis Camp of Elgin, NE; two sons: Gerry (Anita) Camp and Alan (Debbie) Camp; three daughters: Marian (Doug) Root, Evelyn Burger, and Lori (Don) Frederick; 11 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; one brother Dave (Charlene) Camp; and three sisters: Meg (Jerry) Krause; Eileen Tiede, and Shirley Henn.

He was preceded in death by his daughter: Joan Camp; son-in-law Cliff Burger; his parents Jerome and Louise; his siblings: Bob (Lois) Camp, Kate (Don) Starman, and Jim (Cathy) Camp; along with brothers-in-law Larry Henn and Charlie Tiede.