Bill Tinkle, age 88, of Grinnell, died on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, at St. Francis Manor in Grinnell. A funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m., Saturday, August 2, 2014, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with the Rev. Keith Morrison, Grinnell Regional Hospice Chaplain, officiating. Interment will be in Brooklyn Memorial Cemetery in Brooklyn. Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Friday at the Smith Funeral Home, with the family present to greet friends from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Friday evening. In lieu of flowers memorials may be designated to Grinnell Regional Hospice, mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, Iowa 50112. Memories and condolences may be shared with his family at www.smithfh.com. William Isaac Tinkle was born the son of Alfred Everett Tinkle and Geneva Rose (Meldrem) Tinkle on May 27, 1926, in Brooklyn, Iowa. He was raised near Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn High School with the class of 1944. He was united in marriage to Florence "Mick" Hawkins on January 26, 1945 in Marengo, Iowa. Bill worked for Ed Bartachek in Brooklyn doing tiling work before working for Phil Palmer Construction. He later farmed near Barnes City, Iowa for several years and then farmed for Paul McConnell from 1956 – 1968. Florence died of cancer on June 26, 1967. Bill was united in marriage to Fran Miller on May 31, 1969, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa and the couple recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. The family moved to the Leona Tokle farm near Grinnell in 1968 and later to the Ruth Hannay farm near Grinnell. Bill held a passion for farming and raising cattle. He spent many hours in his shop tinkering and working on machinery. The family enjoyed going on annual vacations in Wisconsin, where they camped and fished. He held a special love for his German Shepherd dogs, King and Major. Bill is survived by his wife, Fran Tinkle of Newton, Iowa; daughter, Judy (Randy) Brown of Osceola, Iowa; son, Bill (Nancy) Tinkle of Grinnell; step children, Terry (Carol) Butcher of Durham, North Carolina and Marsha (Harry) Gearhart of Newton; 4 grandchildren; 9 great grandchildren; 1 great great grandchild; 4 step grandchildren; 9 step great grandchildren; and his siblings, Bonnie Ward of Memphis, Missouri, Verlan "Shorty" Tinkle of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Rosy (Virgil) Roorda of Barnes City, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Florence "Mick" Tinkle; siblings, Betty Story and Vernon "Red" Tinkle.