William "Willie" L. Ware

William L. "Willie" Ware, 56 of St. Petersburg, entered eternal rest November 15th, 2008. He was born November 26th, 1951 in Peoria, IL to George W. Ware and Bernice Ware-Lawton. William worked for the Veterans Administration in Chicago as an addiction therapist. He then transferred to the VA hospital in St. Petersburg where he met and married Joan Hoating. They moved to New Mexico, where he served at the VA for 7 1/2 years. They then relocated back to St. Petersburg where William continued his career until his passing. Survivors include his wife Joan Hoating Ware; daughter Alexandra Ware of Evanston, IL; two sons Mark Proctor and Adam Ware, both of Peoria, IL; five sisters, Ida Simpson of St. Paul, MN, Pearlene Parker of Oklahoma City, OK, Carolyn Scott of Atlanta, GA, Lois S. Nance and Diane Purifoy, both of Peoria, IL; brothers-in-law Julius Hoating of St. Petersburg and Julian Hoating of TnT; sisters-in-law Josephine Woodley of New York, NY, Annie Hoating of St. Petersburg, Judith Lumlock and Susan Nexar, both of TnT; grandson Marquese Proctor of Milwaukee, WI, as well as many nieces and nephews. William was preceded in death by his mother, father, brother Sydney Ware, and sister Deloris "Dee" Mitchell. Visitation will be held 3-4 pm Friday, December 5th at David C. Gross Funeral Home in St. Petersburg with memorial services beginning at 4pm. Donations may be made in William's honor to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2141 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 7000, El Segundo, CA 90245 or at pancan.org. David C. Gross Funeral Homes is serving the family. Service Information