1. Ernest William Gracheck
2. 6/24/2026
3. 
   

Ernest “Bill” Gracheck, age 88, left this world surrounded by his loving family on June 24, 2026, in Rio Rancho, NM.

He was born in Independence, MO on February 11, 1938, to Ernest Louis Gracheck and Gladys Agnes (Stevens) Gracheck. Raised in Independence, Bill’s fondest childhood memories stemmed from his time working in the family nursery and helping Harry Truman mow his lawn.

His sister-in-law, Sandy, introduced Bill to Teresa McMahan through a blind date in 1976. A year later Bill was so infatuated that he followed Teresa to Albuquerque, NM, where they were wed on June 30th, 1979.

Bill was a man of many talents- a horticulturalist, mechanic, businessman, and gifted woodworker. He would prefer to repair something, giving it a second life, rather than throw it away.

Bill was an avid storyteller. If you ever need a pun about the latest news from CNN, Bill was your man. Our family’s groans only encouraged him to keep going.

He enjoyed walking and working on the yard when he wasn’t entertaining his beloved grandchildren. Like many proud Midwesterners, Bill cheered for the Royals and Chiefs long before rooting for either of them was popular. Maybe this is why he could root for the Lobos every week as well.

Bill is reunited with his loved ones who preceded him in death: his father Ernest Gracheck, his mother Gladys Gracheck, brothers John Stevens Gracheck and his wife Barbara Ann, James Edward Gracheck, and his sister-in-law Sandra Gale Gracheck.

Bill’s loving memory will be carried forward by his wife of 46 years Teresa Anne Gracheck; daughter Sarah Angela Morrison and her husband, Francisco Kevin Morrison, and their two children Levi William Morrison and Isabel Anne Morrison; son Adam William Gracheck and his son Liam Mason Gracheck; brother Stephen Joseph Gracheck; sister-in-law Joni Gracheck, and many cherished nieces, nephews, and extended family members.

Though Bill has laid down his tools, the things he built, repaired, planted, and nurtured - especially the love he gave his family – will continue to grow for generations to come.

1. God is the Light I enter,
2. the Light I become when I enter it.
3. And He Himself says to me,
4. “This is your soul. Behold how
5. beautiful it is!”
6. And when I behold,
7. it is Him I see.
8. St. Agnes of Prague, OSC