William Bill Guymer

William B. Guymer, 89, passed away at his Bismarck home on Saturday evening, October 25, 2014. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 pm Wednesday, October 29, at McCabe United Methodist Church, 1030 N 6th St, Bismarck, with Rev. Jenny Hallenbeck officiating. There will be no viewing as cremation has taken place. A prayer service and time of sharing will begin at 7:00 pm Tuesday, October 28, in the Great Hall of McCabe United Methodist Church, Bismarck. The only son of Naomi Babcock Guymer and Walter H. Guymer, Bill was born at Jamestown, ND, on May 13, 1925. A graduate of Jamestown High School, he entered the US Navy in March of 1943 and served as a gunners mate on the USS Mazama, an ammunition ship. He was honored to serve his country in the battles of Enietok, Taipan-Tinian of the Marianas, Uliethe of the Carolinas and the Battle of Leyete Gulf, where their ship was strafed by kamikaze pilots and torpedoed by a manned suicide submarine. After significant repair in San Francisco, they returned to Okinawa shortly before the end of War in the Pacific in August of 1945. He spent the winter of 1946 in Discovery Bay on the Puget Sound. After he returned home, Bill attended the University of ND, and graduated with an Associate Degree in Mechanics/Business at Wahpeton. In 1952, he married Carol Jett of Ypsilanti-Jamestown. They lived in Jamestown a short while, before moving to Washburn where he was parts manager of Hoffmann Motors. In 1957 they moved to Lisbon, ND, where he operated the Lisbon Hardware, after selling that business they moved to Bismarck-Mandan in 1968, where he was electrician for the Department of Transportation facilities, later working several summers on an irrigation project of the Northern Plains Research Center, Mandan. Bill set an honorable example in his working career in his church, family, and community. He and his father, Walter, served as ushers in the First Methodist Church of Jamestown, and he participated in the Methodist Churches of Washburn and Lisbon. Bill was Chairman of the Lisbon MC Board for five years. At the First United Methodist Churches of Mandan and Bismarck he served on several church committees. He had been a member of the McCabe United Methodist Church in recent years. In Lisbon, Bill served two terms as City Councilman, participated in the Rural Fire Department with CB radio operations, and owned an apiary with a partner, Wilbur Sheppard. His families' activities included hunting, snowmobiling on the Missouri Bottoms, in summer, son Robert and daughter Kelley water skied with Bill, and as a family they traveled to camp in the Big Horns, Black Hills, or at the farm in Ypsilanti, ND. After retirement, he embraced small engine repair, creating miniature steam engines, and various wooden crafts. In his mid-eighties, he began cross-country skiing. Wintertime leisure moments included reading and he especially enjoyed viewing old Western movies. As a member of the Bismarck-Mandan Elks Lodge he was an honorary member of the Elks National Foundation. Bill is survived by his wife, Carol Guymer, Bismarck; his son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Dawn Guymer, Bellevue, WA; his daughter, Kelley Guymer, Pocatello, ID; and two grandchildren, Nicole Guymer and Jett Guymer, Bellevue, WA. He was preceded in death by his parents.

William Bill Guymer

May 13, 1925 - October 25, 2014