Obituary of William Benjamen Decker

William B. Decker Jr. Granville, NY – William Benjamen Decker, Jr., age 73, of Granville passed away Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at Glens Falls Hospital. William was born in Millington, Michigan, the son of the late William B. and Rose (Betz) Decker Sr. He joined the US Marine Corp on July 31, 1963 at the age of 17. He was honorably discharged on August 18, 1967. William was a recipient of a Purple Heart, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Medal and Good Conduct Medal. When he was discharged at the age of 21, he was a Sergeant, E-5. During boot camp, Bill Jr. kept correspondence with Andrea Claire Jones, who became his wife. They were married on February 3, 1968 with Rev. Frederick B. Jones, Jr. who was Andrea's father performing the ceremony. Bill graduated from high school n 1975 in Michigan. He bettered his education through the years by always taking classes. In May of 1977 he received a Federal Communications permit for Radio Telephone class operator. In 1982 he attended BOCES and took certificate courses for commercial air conditioning and refrigeration repair. He worked at Beckwith's in Whitehall for many years. William also served as a police officer for the Granville Police Department in the late 80's. He was affectionately known as "Rambo". For a brief time, he stayed home while helping care for grandchildren and his disabled wife. His employment was for Covidien in Argyle. Bill Jr. was an avid fisherman and loved woodworking. Once he retired, his greatest joy was spending time with grandchildren and great grandchildren. He never tired of NCIS reruns. He developed a passion for video games, especially Minecraft. Left to cherish his memory as his daughter Schandee L. Decker, his son William B. Decker, III (Jenna). He was blessed with eight grandchildren Jessica, Jeffrey (Abigail), Joshua, Jacob, Brad (Sharon), William IV (Sarah), Alanah (Iris) and Laura and seven great grandchildren Arya, Rhayalynn, Arianna, William V, Akira, Ayden and Daniel. Bill Jr. is survived by five siblings: Mike Decker, April Davidson, Marlene Malone, Robin Major and Heather Decker. Bill is also survived by a former daughter-in-law Christy Decker as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews. There will be a celebration of Bill Jr's life in July as well as a funeral with full military honors.