William G. Bill Gladney, Sr.

GLADNEY, SR., WILLIAM C. BILL William C. Bill Gladney, Sr., a retired police officer and a Pearl Harbor survivor, died Sunday, June 16, 2002 at a local retirement center. He was 81. Services with military honors will be at 10:00AM Wednesday, June 19 at Waco Memorial Park Mausoleum Chapel with the Rev. Joe Bailey and Richard Cunningham officiating. Entombment will follow at Waco Memorial Park Mausoleum. Arrangements are through Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, 6101 Bosque Blvd. Mr. Gladney, a descendant of colonial settlers was born January 21, 1921 in Hubbard, Texas, the son of William A. and Estelle Kendrick Gladney. He was a 1939 honor graduate of Hubbard High School and later attended the University of Southern California. Mr. Gladney enlisted in the U.S. Navy in August 1939 and served throughout World War II, fought in the battle at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and was released in November 1945 as one of the youngest warrant officers in the naval service. He served on ships and stations on the Pacific Coast, at Pearl Harbor and Guam, the battleship USS West Virginia and the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. He was awarded seven medals for his service in World War II and continued to serve his country for five additional years in the U.S. Navy Reserve and was recently awarded The Cross of Military Service by the Daughters of the Confederacy. He was a member of the Los Angeles Police Department for twenty years, retiring as a police lieutenant in 1967. He returned home to central Texas and Waco in 1971 and worked as a regional police training and criminal justice coordinator for the Heart of Texas Council of Governments and as a McLennan County deputy sheriff for several years. In 1971 he established the Heart of Texas Regional Police Academy now conducted at McLennan Community College. He was also a pecan grower in the Speegleville area. Mr. Gladney was intensely proud of his country and the liberty, freedom and opportunities which all may enjoy. He had a fervent interest in the affairs of the well organized long standing Gladney Family Association, attending biennial family reunions, and preserving and maintaining the Old Gladney Cemetery at Winnsboro, South Carolina, where his immigrant ancestors from Ireland are buried. He enjoyed knowing and communicating with many cousins in his large extended family. He married Mary Margaret Brosnan of Los Angeles, California in 1943. He later married Loma Hughes Sawyer of Mt. Calm, Texas in 1965. He was preceded in death by his father, William A. Gladney, sister, Christine Barnett, son, John Damian Gladney, grandson, Jonathan Damian Gladney, and stepson, Donald Ray Sawyer. He was a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association Waco Chapter 10, Sons of the American Revolution Waco Chapter 32, Waco VFW Post 2148, Los Angeles Retired Fire and Police Association, and Speegleville Baptist Church. Survivors include his dear wife, Loma Gladney of Waco; his beloved mother, Estelle Gladney of McGregor; son, William C. Gladney, Jr. of Atlanta, Georgia; daughter, Jayne Kathleen Hardin of Newport Coast, California; grandson, Seth Richard Hardin; step-grandson, Michael Ray Sawyer and wife, Kandi; and step-great grandchildren, Seth Michael Sawyer and Tatianna Venita Sawyer. Honorary pallbearers are Commander Michael L. Hassell of Waco Police Department, Sheriff Larry Lynch of McLennan County Sheriffs Department, and fellow members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Old Gladney Cemetery Fund, c/o Clifton Gladney, 5874 Indian Springs, Livingston, TX 77351 or Hillcrest Hospice, Waco, TX. WILKIRSON-HATCH-BAILEY