William Harney, Jr.

William “Bill” Ball Harney, Jr. of Robstown, Texas passed away June 30, 2015 at the age of 84. He was born August 5th, 1930 in Nuecestown, Texas to William B. Harney, Sr. and Nell Prince Harney. Bill graduated from Robstown High School, was a U.S. Army Veteran (currently served as President for the American Legion, Robstown Post) and was a life-long farmer in the Robstown/Petronila area for over 70 years. His love of farming began as a child on the family farm where Bill learned farming from his father and he learned to speak Spanish (before English) also from his father. As a sixth generation Texan his family had a long history in South Texas. His paternal great grandfather was Edward Harney who came to Nueces County from Waterford, Ireland in the 1840's and established a toll crossing for cattle driven across the Nueces River; as his tract of land was completely fenced it was very convenient for cattleman to rest their herds. Edward Harney married Margaret Riley and they had one son John Harney who married Julia Ball and from this union were born 4 children, Edward, William (Bill's father), John (served as Nueces County Sheriff for 14 years) and Laura Harney Callicoatte. With this rich family history Bill became a gifted story teller (who never knew a stranger) with an amazing memory for names and details. Bill loved deer hunting, reading Western novels, watching the Dallas Cowboys but nothing made him happier than "talking farming" and driving his tractors. He continued farming until the age of 83 with the help of his son-in-law and grandson. Bill was a member of First United Methodist Church in Robstown, Texas since 1950 and was where he and Marjorie were married on July 12, 1952. He transferred his membership to Grace United Methodist Church after the Robstown Church closed. Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie Marshall Harney and his son, William “Billy” Harney, III. He is survived by his daughter, Holly (Charles) Bockholt and grandson, Jared Bockholt all of Corpus Christi, Texas; by his granddaughters, April (Joe) Hendrix and Amee (William) Cain both of Magnolia, Texas. He is survived by his great grandsons, Brice Harmeier, Chad and John Cain, all of Magnolia, Texas. Bill is also survived by his sister, Patricia “Pat” Adams of Houston, Texas. Visitation will be from 2:00 to 8:00 pm with the family present from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm, Monday, July 6th, 2015 at Sawyer-George Funeral Home. Funeral services will be conducted at 10:00 am, Tuesday, July 7th at Grace United Methodist Church with Pastor Michele Lott officiating. Burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Jared Bockholt, Brice Harmeier, Chad Cain, Whitney Adams, Joseph Harney, John Callaway, Eddie Shenk and Sam Howze. Honorary pallbearer will be John Cain. Bill's family would like to thank the wonderful and skilled doctors, nurses and volunteers at BAMC 4T, San Antonio. In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to Grace United Methodist Church.