William "Bill" Hankerson, 68, Owatonna
William Donald “Bill” Hankerson, 68, passed away unexpectedly at home on June 9, 2022, from a heart attack.
Bill was born Dec. 16, 1953, in Winona to Donald F. and Leonie (Pelkey) Hankerson. He grew up in St. Charles. Bill graduated from St. Charles High School in 1972 (and was looking forward to the 50th reunion this fall). He was involved in sports from a young age. In high school he was the quarterback of the football team, catcher on the baseball team, and as he said “filler” on the basketball team. He loved growing up in a small town and still has many dear friends from that time.
Bill attended St. Mary’s University to play baseball and graduated from there in 1976. He later attended Mankato State for some business courses. Bill worked in various sales jobs (Jerome Food, OTC, North Star Foods) before finding and pursuing his dream career as a stockbroker. In 1986, he began his career as a broker with Paine Webber. While the name of the firm changed over the years, he remained with the same core group of brokers until his retirement from Morgan Stanley in 2019.
After retirement, he remained active in the business by helping family and friends with their investments.
Bill met Jeanne at the Western Inn in Owatonna where he was a friend of the bartender and she was a cocktail waitress in 1984. By that time he had discovered his true passion in life – golf. Jeanne’s access to a membership at the Owatonna Country Club (and dental insurance) were major attractants. They were married May 14, 1988, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna. Over their 34 years together, they enjoyed many golf trips and outings with friends and family in addition to spending “quality time” at the OCC.
Bill had numerous friends from his childhood and college days that he remained in contact with. He also made friends wherever he went and cherished them all. Whenever a question came up about finding someone to help with one of Jeanne’s “projects” he always “knew a guy” that could help. He was particularly fond of the afternoon crew at Wings, all the staff at the OCC and the golf guys at the course. He was leader of the Greens Committee at the OCC for 20 years.
Bill is survived by his wife, Jeanne, along with his in-laws Don and Carolyn Huff, Owatonna, sisters-in-law Debby (Bill) Miller, Owatonna, and Beth (Rob) Brault, Winona, brother-in-law Jeff (Margie) Huff, Maple Grove, and nephews Nathan (Raven) Miller, Ian Miller, Walker Brault, Austin (Bethany) Huff and Sam Huff. He is also survived by cousins Caliste (Hugh Goldsmith) Coffey, Redondo Beach, Calif., and Shirley (Pat) McCarthy, Owatonna and their children Leah McCarthy and Mark (Mai) McCarthy.
He was preceded in death by his parents Don and Leonie Hankerson, aunts and uncles Easter (Lawrence) Kvasnicka, Evelyn (Don) Malone and James (Elsie) Pelkey.
There will be visitation for friends and family Monday, June 20, 2022 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Brick-Meger Funeral Home in Owatonna. There will be a Celebration of Life for Bill at the Owatonna Country Club Tuesday, June 21, 2022 from 4 to 8 p.m. with a brief memorial service at 5:30 p.m.conducted by Our Savior’s Lutheran Church where Bill was a member at the time of his death. After the service, there will be a time for those who would like to share stories or remembrances of Bill. There will be a private interment at Forest Hills Cemetery at a later date.