William J.B. Trelow, Jr., age 87, of O'Fallon, Ill., born June 8, 1932 in Marshall, Mo., to William J.B. Trelow, Sr., and Sadie, nee Sleeper, Trelow passed away peacefully August 20, 2019, at home, surrounded by his loving family.

In 1952, Bill enlisted in the Air Force and honorably served his country for 29 years. While stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany, he met the love of his life, Christa Bähr. Bill and Christa were married in 1956 in Ramstein, Germany, and together they raised four sons as Bill continued his military career. He was stationed at bases near and far, including serving in Vietnam 1966-67. In 1976, Bill was assigned to Scott Air Force Base for the second time in his career. With that assignment, Bill and Christa made O'Fallon their permanent home. After retiring from active duty, Bill continued at Scott AFB in Air Mobility Command, receiving several Civilian Career Service Awards. Bill served his community as a member of the City of O'Fallon Zoning Board, as Cub Scout Leader – Den 47, and was also a member of First Baptist Church of O'Fallon where he was a Sunday School teacher and deacon. Bill had a green thumb and was an avid and successful gardener.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his step-father Patrick Scott, brother Gene Trelow, and brother-in-law Frank O'Halloran.

Honoring his memory are his wife of 62 years, Christa, and sons Chuck (Sherry) Trelow, Ron (Denise) Trelow, Mike (Judy) Trelow, and Tim (Shari) Trelow. Bill's greatest joy was being Opa. He was loved and adored by 12 grandchildren: Matthew (Melanie) Trelow, Heather (Brandon) Kastelein, Christyn Trelow, Carly Trelow, Alyssa (Dr. Brenton) Ruopp, Emily (Nick) Fensom, Andrew Trelow, Adam (Courtney) Trelow, Brooke Trelow, Nick Trelow, Bryan Trelow, and Mary Kate Trelow; and 11 great-grandchildren: Shay, Calla, and Wyatt Trelow, Annaliesa, Evangaline, Jacob, Genavieve, and Brayden Kastelein, Sadie and Kinley Fensom, and Piper Ruopp. Bill rarely missed a school play or sporting event and was always outside with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren playing, swinging, watching them ride bikes, and feeding them green beans straight from the garden. Also surviving are his sister Betty O'Halloran, brother Merle (Evonne) Trelow, sister-in-law Ann Trelow, many nieces and nephews, and many, many friends and neighbors.

Bill's family expresses their gratitude to Breeze Hospice for their outstanding and compassionate care. Memorial donations are suggested to Shriners Hospitals. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.wfh-ofallon.com .

Visitation: The family will receive friends from 9:30 – 11:30 am, Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at First Baptist Church, (Main Entrance) 1111 East Highway 50, O'Fallon,  Ill.

Funeral: Funeral Service will follow at 11:30 am. Burial with military honors will follow at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.