William “Bill” Cairns, age 81, a resident of Spooner, WI, died on Friday, October 7, 2022, at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Bill was born on May 6, 1941, in Spooner to parents Reuben “Floyd” and Nellie (Thompson) Cairns.

He attended school in Siren and afterwards joined the US Army. After his discharge from the Army, he went to the Minneapolis, MN area and worked various jobs. On November 7, 1970, he was united in marriage to Mary Lou Sherva in Minneapolis He began working at Liberty Carton and then took a job with Medtronic as a maintenance mechanic, where he retired after over 25 years of service. In 1987, he and Mary Lou purchased a cabin from a former resort on Cable Lake outside of Spooner and started what has been many years of great memories for family and friends. Bill and Mary Lou retired in 2001 and subsequently tore the cabin down and built their dream home on the lake and made this their permanent residence. Bill enjoyed taking road trips and exploring all over northwest Wisconsin and beyond. In their younger years this meant family camping trips all over Minnesota, Wisconsin, and numerous trips out west. Bill and Mary Lou also took many road trips to New York, Connecticut, Florida, California, and Nevada to visit family. In his spare time, Bill liked taking boat rides, spending time with his grandchildren, playing cards, visiting with his many neighbors on the lake and enjoying meals with his friends in town. He loved talking with all he crossed paths with and was the first to help a friend or family member in need.

Bill is survived by his children: Todd (Deb) Sherva of Ham Lake, MN, Katie (Larry) Carsi of St. Louis Park, MN, David Cairns of Little Canada, MN, Tim Cairns of Holcomb, WI, 6 grandchildren: Daniel, Jessica, Dominic, Mary-Kate, Thor, Kara, (3) great grandchildren: Hugo, Brock, and Wyatt, brother Bobby (Melba) Cairns of Frederic, WI, and sister Sandy Tisdale of Milwaukee, WI.

Bill is preceded in death by his wife Mary Lou, daughter Brenda Cairns, and sister Darlene Nelson.

Funeral services for Bill Cairns will be held at the Spooner Funeral Home in Spooner, WI on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 with visitation/celebration of life at 10:00am followed by a service at 11:00am with Pastor Heather Kistner officiating. Interment will follow at the Spooner Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Bill’s family would appreciate your consideration in donating to the American Foundation for the blind https://www.afb.org/ or Disabled American Veterans (DAV) at https://www.dav.org.

Last Update: Oct 10, 2022 12:11 pm CDT