Billy ‘Bill’ C. Macumber, 80
Macumber
Billy ‘Bill’ C. Macumber, 80
Bill Macumber was born May 27, 1940, in Sandpoint, Idaho, to Lola and Louie Macumber of the Cabinet-Clark Fork area. He passed away Aug. 21, 2020, at 3 a.m., at the Hospice House in Coeur d’Alene. He was 80 years old.
Bill attended grade school in Cabinet, Idaho and high school in Clark Fork, Idaho. After he graduated, he became a member of the local labor union in Spokane. He worked for years in road construction around the Inland Northwest. He then became a brakeman for the Milwaukee Railroad for 10 years before the company moved to St. Paul, Minn. Bill chose not to move his family and stayed in Idaho, where he started his own business in the logging industry. Logging was his final career before retirement.
Bill married JoAnn Gunter in 1963 and they had three children, all boys— Billy, Jimmy and Robert. Their oldest son, Billy, died when he was 23. They lost their second son, Jimmy, when he was 46. Bill missed his sons terribly. His son, Robert, chose to stay close to Bill, having a home nearby. JoAnn and Bill were married about 20 years before they divorced. Bill married again years later, but that was a short union.
He lived close to Sandpoint, where his brother, Louie, became ill with cancer. Bill took care of his older brother, along with Hospice and their sister Cora, for the last year of Louie’s life. Bill never left his side.
After Louie died, Bill had a terrible car accident and he remained in the nursing home and rehabilitation center for nine months until being transported to the Hospice House in Coeur d’Alene, where he stayed a short time before passing.
He is survived by his son, Robert Macumber, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his two sisters: Cora Bell Trott and Gloria Wood, and his son Jimmy’s wife, Abby, who was a blessing to Bill over these last years, as well as many nieces and nephews who loved their uncle Bill so much. He will be forever missed.
He was cremated at Neptune Society. An informal family gathering of remembrance will take place at a later date.