Obituary of William F. Halcomb

William F. Halcomb, 96, of Cape Girardeau, died of cancer on June 7, 2018, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau, MO. Bill was born Sept. 29, 1921 in Doniphan, MO, to Samuel Jesse and Willa Belle Payton Halcomb. He graduated from Doniphan High School in 1939, entering the Army in 1940 with Company I.

During World War II he was stationed in nine locales within the South Pacific islands of New Hebrides, the Solomons, the Russells, the Marianas, and New Caledonia. While serving for two years as an Infantry platoon leader, he earned a bronze star. He was honorably discharged with the rank of First Lieutenant in 1945.

In 1945, Bill returned to his hometown of Doniphan. Bill fondly recalled the evening he went out for dining and dancing with his brother, Sam (Frosty), and sister-in-law, Kathryn (formerly Steele of Doniphan) when he met Nancy Elaine Ponder, daughter of Leonard F. and Hazel Ponder. They married right away, and their closest friends remained Frosty and Kathryn, whom they visited in St. Louis every couple of months, until Elaine died on March 15, 2004.

When Bill, his wife, and their son moved to Cape Girardeau, they lived in the old Broadway School building that had been turned into a dorm for married veterans attending Southeast Missouri State College. As a junior, he was awarded the Benton Award for having the highest scholastic standing. In 1950, he was graduated with a B.S. degree, Magna Cum Laude, with majors in Business Administration and History. Interestingly, his favorite course was accounting.

Bill was a manufacturer's representative for St. Louis Independent Packing Co. for two years and, also, a retail store manager for Kroger Company for two years before being awarded an assistantship in marketing at the University of Illinois. There he received a M.S. degree with a major in Marketing in 1956.

In total, he was awarded three fellowships including the Economics-in-Action Fellowship at the Case Institute of Technology and both the Julian Price and the Ford Foundation Fellowships at the University of North Carolina. Bill was a member of the American Marketing Assn., Sales Executives Club, Pi Sigma Epsilon, Delta Sigma Pi, and Phi Alpha Theta.

While teaching at Memphis State University in 1959, he was recruited to establish and develop the Marketing Department for Southeast Missouri State College, where he taught seven courses as the only marketing teacher. In 1972, when the college became a university, Bill oversaw the creation of the Department of Marketing. 

During his tenure, he also served as the manager of the Co-op Book Store for seven years and the director of the student employment office. He helped/ organize and served as the faculty advisor to the Alpha Kappa Psi and the Phi Kappa Nu business fraternities at SEMO. The marketing students he tutored had an eight year stretch of winning the oratorical contest at the annual national Sales and Marketing Executives Conference in St. Louis. When Bill retired as a professor in 1985 after teaching for 25 years, he was honored to have a scholarship established in his name as it was recognized that, "An important part of the Marketing Department's success is due to Mr. Halcomb's leadership early in the program."

After moving to Cape Girardeau in 1960, his pastimes included: watching his son, Doug, play baseball and football as his teams won state championships, playing cards with Harold and Drucilla Grace (from Doniphan) on Saturdays, watching Sunday football games on television with Dill Sloan (also from Doniphan), attending country auctions with Charlie Williams, fishing for bluegill at Horseshoe Lake, and traveling. While living independently from 2004 until his last months, he enjoyed spending time by reading current events and American history, watching baseball games with Dickie Nutt, and mall walking with other seniors.

During his youth, he was an active participant in several sports, including baseball and basketball, with his favorite sport being tennis. In recent years, he wrote several articles describing his idyllic childhood in Doniphan for the Prospect News newspaper.

He is survived by two children, William Douglas Halcomb and Janet Laurel Schlief (Ron); three grandchildren, Christopher Eric Halcomb, Scott Douglas Halcomb (Deborah), and Andrew Thomas Maurer; and five great-grandchildren, Faryn, Elric, Cirith, Saiya, and Yvaine.

Bill is predeceased by his parents; wife, Elaine; brother, Sam; and two sisters, Pauline Brady and Maxine Brady.

A private graveside ceremony with full military honors will be held for the family at the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Doniphan, at a later date. No visitation. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Bill's honor are suggested to the Salvation Army, the American Cancer Society, or the charity of your choice.

The family would like to express their appreciation to the staff of the Cape Girardeau Missouri Veterans Home for their compassionate care.