William "Bill" Joseph Birnbaum, of Rapid City, died peacefully on Sunday March 11, 2018, at Rapid City Regional Hospital after a long battle with numerous health issues.

Bill was born March 18, 1944 in Rapid City to Lawrence and Alma (Downen) Birnbaum.  Bill attended school at St. John's Elementary School and Rapid City Central High School. After high school he then married DeeAnn Hansen and to this union their daughter, Shelly, was born.  He later married Cindy Redin.

Bill worked in various construction and sheetrocking jobs. Following that he worked for Kemp Construction in Keystone, SD. He then returned to Rapid City and was employed by Chuck Crawford's Conoco and then by MG Oil. After some years with these companies, he established his own trucking company, "Billy B. Trucking." During his trucking career, he contracted with Trimac trucking, which enabled him to see much of the United States and Canada. He ended his trucking career due to a decline in his health.

Bill had a passion for restoring old tractors. He loved going to auctions to see if he could find a tractor he didn't have or parts that he needed. He had a keen eye for finding tractors and parts in the most unlikely places. Bill had his own shop where he then spent many an hour working on all the treasures he found.

Bill enjoyed being with family and friends and always had a great story to tell and wisdom to be shared. With many a wild story told by him, Pat, Bill, Robert, Jim and along with many others, his life was rich, full and exciting. Because of their wild escapades, some of these stories are best not shared.

He is survived by his mother, Alma Gruenig, Rapid City, four brothers; Mike (Sarah) Birnbaum, Rapid City, Jim Birnbaum, Scottsdale, AZ, Pat (Lee) Birnbaum, Bellingham, WA, and  Terry Birnbaum (Jenny) Chadron, NE, special friend Cathy Steen, Rapid City; daughter Shelly (Joe) Heller, Gilbert, AZ, and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephew and cousins.

Bill was preceeded in death by his father Lawrence Birnbaum and brother Bruce Birnbaum.

Visitation will be from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday, March 18, at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 am on Monday, March 19th at the funeral home with Father Bill Zandri presiding.

Interment will follow at Fairburn Cemetery, Fairburn, SD.

A memorial has been established