William Edmund Timmons was born in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia on April 7, 1918. His parents were William Henry Timmons and Irene Mary Fry, married in Wheeling on January 15, 1916. Irene, who was 16 at the time of the marriage, was the daughter of James Edmund Fry and Mary S. Miller.

The father, William Henry Timmons, was born in Bridgeport, Ohio on March 10, 1896. According to his WWI Draft Registration Card, he was "married with a child to support," and he was employed as a "catcher in the tin mill" at American Sheet Company in Wheeling. The year of this registration is not stated on the card, but it must have been June 5, 1917, at which time he and his wife had a daughter, Irene Dorothy, almost a year old. She died on August 28, 1917 of Tubercular Meningitis. The death of William Henry Timmons, not quite 22 years old, followed on February 18, 1918 from Pulmonary Tuberculosis. His son, William Edmund Timmons, was born on April 7, 1918.

At the time the 1920 Federal Census of Wheeling was enumerated in January 1920, Irene Timmons, 20, and her son, "Edmond," age 1, were living with her parents, James E. and Mary Fry, both 43. There were 7 other Fry children in the home besides Irene. They were Edmond, Mary, Mildred, Lillian, Hazel, Delorah and Helen.

Widow, Irene Timmons, age 20, married (Nathan) Goff Tippens, a widower, on March 27, 1920 in Wheeling. According to her death record, Irene died on February 6, 1929, at age 29. She had Chronic Myocarditis but had hemorrhaged after delivering a full-term baby. The baby girl - half sister of William Edmund Timmons - was Mildred Irene Tippens, later the wife of Thomas J. Frame. Her birthdate has been found as February 7, 1929. She died in 2009. Earlier in her marriage to Goff Tippens, Irene had a son, Norman Goff Tippens, born in 1922. He served in the US Army during WWII and died in 1954.

In the 1930 census, Edmund W. Timmons (William Edmund might have been called Edmund), age 11, was still residing with his maternal grandparents, James and Mary Fry. His aunts, Delorah and Helen, were still in the home, as well as a younger Fry daughter, Grace, age 8.

On October 1, 1938, William Edmund Timmons, 20, married Catherine Alma Bonenberger, 18, in Wheeling. She was the daughter of Herman Joseph Bonenberger and Flora A. Kramer. In the 1940 census, William and Catherine were living with her widowed mother, Flora, a tobacco stripper at Marsh Tobacco Company. Three brothers were also in the home.

According to his WWII Draft Registration Card, William and his wife lived at 103-45th Street in Wheeling, and he was employed at Centre Foundry in Warwood, Ohio County. On December 2, 1943, William enlisted in the U. S. Army and served in WWII until he was discharged on November 4, 1945.

After more than eight years of marriage, William and Catherine welcomed their first child, a son, in January 1947.

Wikipedia: "The Korean War (1950-1953) began when the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded non-Communist South Korea. As Kim Il-sung's North Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, quickly overran South Korea, the United States came to South Korea's aid."

The Veterans Affairs Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem Death File, the source for William's service during WWII, further indicates that William E. Timmons enlisted in the U. S. Army again on November 3, 1948. A daughter was born to William and his wife in the summer of 1950 in Kentucky. Perhaps they were stationed at the army base at Fort Campbell.

Whether William was in Kentucky at the time of his daughter's birth is unknown. However, less than two months later, Master Sergeant William Edmund Timmons was Killed in Action on September 11, 1950, while serving in the South Korea Sector.

Korean War Veterans Honor Roll: "Master Sergeant Timmons was a member of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on September 11, 1950. Master Sergeant Timmons was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal."

The remains of Master Sergeant Timmons were returned from Korea, and he is interred in Lot 2018 at Mt. Zion Cemetery, Wheeling. His father, William H. Timmons, and infant sister, Irene Dorothy, are buried in the same lot. His mother, Irene Mary Fry Timmons Tippens, is also buried at Mt. Zion, exact location unknown.

The soldier's widow, Catherine, never remarried. She built a small, two-bedroom house in the Mozart section of Wheeling, Marshall County. She was a lovely, church-going woman, entirely devoted to her children. Her mother, Flora Bonenberger, lived with Catherine and her children for many years. Flora died in December 1979. Catherine Alma Bonenberger Timmons, born January 1, 1920, died on January 7, 1991.