William (Bill) Clare Kearnes

Funeral services with full military honors will be 2:00 P.M. Friday, November 13, 2020 in Missouri Veterans Cemetery, Springfield, Missouri. Arrangements under the care and direction of Barnes Family Funeral Home. 

William (Bill) Clare Kearnes, 90, of Clever, passed away quietly in the hospital Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. Bill was born in St. Joseph Dec. 7, 1929, to William Raymond Kearnes and Clara (Weiss) Kearnes. He attended Lafayette High School in St. Joseph and married Elvona McBrayer on Sept. 1, 1950. They were married 59 years before the passing of Elvona on July 10, 2010. 

Bill joined the United States Marine Corps in 1951 and served his country during the Korean War. He worked for the Farragut Grain Elevator for 20 years, then worked as a gunsmith for several years at Silver Dollar City in Missouri and Tennessee, traveling to promote the park. After retiring from SDC, Bill and Elvona starting a new adventure and created painted wood fine art to sell at craft shows around the country. They settled in Ozark in the late ‘80s.  

Bill loved to play Santa Claus every year. He loved blackpowder rifles, tractors, woodworking, hunting, fishing, canoeing, float trips, mowing his yard on his riding lawnmower and spending time with his family and friends. He also enjoyed watching his son Raymond skydive and had the chance to ride in a power parachute and hot air balloon.

Bill is survived by his two sons, William D. Kearnes and his wife Michelle, Raymond Kearnes; eight grandchildren, twenty great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren; his brother Richard Kearnes and his wife Rosemarie. Bill was preceded in death by wife Elvona, daughter Vickie, parents William and Clara and two sisters Betty Jean and Mary Francis.  

Online condolences may be shared at http://www.barnesfamilyfunerals.com.