William “Bill” Franklin Stratton, 65

William "Bill" Franklin Stratton, 65, of Green Ridge, died Saturday, March 30, 2013, at his home.  He was born on February 8, 1948, at Keokuk, Iowa, a son of Robert Marshall and Vira May (Rule) Stratton.   At the age of five, he moved with his family to rural Windsor, where he attended Fairfield Grade School and helped on the family farm.  He graduated from Windsor High School in 1966.  In 1967, he married and this union was blessed with the gift of two children, Sara and Phillip.   In 1972, Bill bought a dairy farm near Chilhowee and drove a truck for several farmers.  He sold his farm in 1986 and moved back to Windsor, where he was a truck driver and farmer until his retirement in 2010.  On April 13, 1996, at Calvary Baptist Church in Windsor, he was united in marriage to Shirley Albin Joyce, who survives of the home.   Bill was a member of the Brandon Methodist Church and of the Odd Fellows.  He loved being with his grandchildren, especially giving them rides on his John Deere tractor and making paper airplanes.  He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, listening to country music, and riding motorcycles.   Besides his wife, he is survived by: one son, Phillip Stratton and his wife Kristin of Elkhorn, NE; three daughters, Sara Gursick and her husband John, Cindy Wallen and her husband Mike, Channon Dove and her husband Dennis, all of Windsor; one sister, Barbara Peck and her husband Earl of Ionia;   eight grandchildren, Allison, Will, Jill, and Josi Stratton, Nicholas Gursick, Josh Beemer, Jennifer Strouse, and Cole Dove; and four great-grandchildren, Aiden and Addie Contreras, LiLi Beemer, and Mason Strouse.   He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Robert Stratton.  Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 5, 2013, at Fox Funeral Home, Cole Camp, with  Rev. Lynn Snapp officiating.  Burial will be in Union-Williams Cemetery, rural Cole Camp.   The family will receive friends from 6 - 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, 2013, at the funeral home.   The family suggests memorial contributions be given to Union-Williams Cemetery, Ewing Therapy Center in Sedalia, or American Cancer Society in care of the Fox Funeral Home, Cole Camp.   Pallbearers will be Tommy Rutledge, Scott Peck, John Gursick, Daniel Peck, Jace Rutledge, and Phillip Stratton.  Honorary pallbearers will be his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.