William D. 'Bill' Tiberend, formerly of Benton

William D. (Bill) Tiberend passed away at home on Saturday, Jan. 15 after battling cancer for several months.

Bill was born on July 29, 1940 in Benton, Illinois to Beulah (Doty) and Theodore (Kaiser) Tiberend. He was raised on the farm, which he loved.

Bill joined the U.S. Navy upon graduation from Benton High School in 1958. After his discharge, he settled in Benton and attended Southern Illinois University. He was married to Marcia (Fields) and they had two sons. He later married Leslie Lundy on Dec. 9, 1995.

Bill and his family moved to Sullivan, Illinois, where he began his career as a Country Companies agent and Farm Bureau Manager. He then became the executive director of the Land of Lincoln Soybean Association and Illinois Soybean Program Operating Board (now known collectively as the Illinois Soybean Association) in Bloomington, Illinois.

Bill's work took him all over the state, the country, and the world, promoting and marketing new uses for soybeans. He helped establish the Wisconsin Soybean Association in Madison, Wisconsin, and he was instrumental in having the National Soybean Research Center located at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

Bill began his second career at Plastipak Packaging in Champaign, Illinois as a parts manager. He helped Plastipak implement SAP software, which greatly improved the efficiency and accountability of their operations. Bill retired from Plastipak in November 2011.

Bill loved to travel, socialize, tell entertaining stories and be the life of the party. He had an amazing amount of knowledge on just about every subject! He enjoyed Illini sports, gardening, reading, poker and holding court with his coffee buddies at the Original House of Pancakes. He was a friend to all animals, especially the kitties and birds.

Bill is survived by his wife, Leslie, of Champaign; two sons, Gregory Quinn of New York City and Venice, Florida and Michael William of Edina, Minnesota; his beloved brother, Robert (Juanita) of O'Fallon, Illinois and their two daughters, Pamela (Willie) Jones and daughter Elizabeth of Rochester, Illinois and Melissa Tiberend (Miles Meador) and children Will and Audrey of O'Fallon; as well as his dear cousin, Dick (Billie) Davis of Benton. A celebration of Bill's life will be held in the spring. Memorial donations may be made to Champaign Area Trap Spay Neuter Adoption Program (catsnap.org) or the Champaign County Humane Society (cuhumane.org).