Bill Kuilema

Confident, tolerant, and hardworking, Bill Kuilema was a thoughtful, caring person who savored time with family and friends. He was deeply devoted to his wife, Sandy, who he referred to as the love of his life and their much-loved children, Lindsay and Joe.

Bill and Sandy met while working for the City of Kalamazoo, but it was not love at first sight. However, after being assigned to the same crew in the water department that changed quickly. Bill and Sandy realized they had common interests and similar tastes in food which included tuna salad sandwiches for lunch and hot tea. Bill eventually pursued Sandy at an employee outing, and they were married June, 1984. Sandy’s daughter, Lindsay, was lovingly accepted by Bill and in 1985 they were blessed with the birth of their son, Joe. As time passed new members were welcomed into the family including Lindsay’s adored wife, Erin, and precious (sometimes naughty) grandchildren, Eliza, Emerson, and Wilder.

The third child in a family of four, Bill realized at an early age his love for the out of doors. He, his younger brother, Curt, and other boys from their neighborhood loved playing sports and spending time along Axtell Creek. They also loved getting into mischief with their older sisters, Margaret and Carol.

Early in the morning when the 2-day old donuts were discarded at the donut shop down the street they would see who could be the first one to get there to retrieve the donuts from the waste bin. Yummy! As Bill and Curt grew older, they were introduced to hunting and fishing by their father, Pete. Family vacations to Vacationland Resort on the Cisco Chain of Lakes provided special memories and sometimes fish large enough to take to a taxidermist and hang on the living room wall! But most revered were the bluegills that were fried in an iron skillet and eaten for dinner.

After Pete died Bill and Curt traveled to Vacationland Resort with their brother-in-law, Dane, and good friend, Gary and continued the fishing tradition. Some years they would also set up campgrounds in the upper lower peninsula and hunt deer. There was likely a lot of beer drinking at these outings after hunting and fishing was over for the day, and maybe some stronger spirits, too. Deer hunting later moved from up north to 40 acres Bill and Sandy acquired near their beloved farmhouse. One benefit of the move was Sandy cooking a big breakfast for everyone after each morning’s hunt. On firearms opening day Bill would make sloppy joes in a crock pot that could be enjoyed all day, as the hunt allowed. Bill’s good friend and neighbor, Jim, also hunted the 40 acres and enjoyed sharing in the hunting camaraderie. The skillful hunters filled their garages with deer antlers and their homes with whitetail deer mounts.

The 40 acres provided recreational opportunities for the entire family. Bill and Sandy enjoyed date-nights sipping wine in the large wooden deer blind that Bill's good friend, Lance, built years ago. The entire family learned to cross-country ski on the mowed trails, which were also hiked in the summer. There was a special spot where several trails came together which was affectionately named Kissin’Corners. Arrival at this spot meant everyone had to kiss everyone else.

Bill’s favorite activity was to take the family out back on the land for hot dog roasts around a campfire, something Joe and Lindsay greatly enjoyed. A basketball court was made from an old slab of concrete where a Quonset hut once stood. Bill usually won the family’s games of horse that were played. All of Bill’s kids and grandkids loved to ride on Papa’s John Deere tractor when they were little and as they got older, he taught them how to drive and then made them mow the trails! They also loved looking for practice golf balls Bill hit out of the yard and onto the land.

Bill’s love of fishing started a decades long tradition of spending the last week in July at a small resort near Fountain, Michigan called Blue Lake Resort. Lindsay loved going there but disliked that her birthday usually fell during that week, and she was away from her friends. However, she and Joe made lots of friends with kids staying in other cottages and love playing along the sandy beach and swimming. Trips into Ludington on rainy days to see movies and buy souvenirs at the Trading Post created special memories. Bill spent hours fishing on Blue Lake in his old aluminum canoe. He was always the best fisherman at the resort and would cook up a huge mess of bluegills on the last day of the week to share with the other families. His secret bait was crickets!

Bill loved watching Lindsay and Joe grow up and was always there for them. There were father/daughter dances with Lindsay and hunting outings on the land with Joe. Other activities Bill enjoyed with Lindsay and Joe often focused around their school sports including basketball, soccer, baseball and softball, and track and field. He taught them how to swing a golf club and a bat and how to catch and throw balls. Bill also played softball on a City League team for decades. He always said there was nothing better than an ice-cold beer after a blazing hot ball game. Totally unrelated another one of his favorite sayings was YOU AIN’T MUCH IF YOU AIN’T DUTCH!

Joe and Bill have fond memories of a trip they took together out west to downhill ski. A few hours into the trip Sandy got a call from Bill saying he had mistakenly left his credit card at a restaurant and that he would pick it up on the way back home five days later. Really, Bill! Sandy cancelled the card while she wondered how much beer the two of them had consumed! Lindsay and Erin invited Bill and Sandy to join them on a trip to Traverse City in 2023 where they did some off-road trail riding and hit some craft beer breweries. At one brewery’s outdoor patio where techno dance music was playing, they stopped to play cards and drink some beer. Bill surprised everyone when he got up and started dancing. He enjoyed himself immensely while everyone laughed because Bill’s dance moves were unique to him and him alone. One was affectionately called the octopus dance!

Bill was fond of spending time at the family lake-house in the summer teaching Eliza, Emerson, and Wilder how to catch fish. He loved taking them on boat rides to Knickknack Cove for a swim or out on the open water for tubing. They had fun being chased by Papa who pretended to be a monster, played ping pong in the basement and enjoyed reading Where’s Waldo books together. Every New Year’s Eve they took out all the craft supplies and made goofy hats together. Papa always made time to attend their many sporting events and helped them develop their skills. Eliza is also musically talented, and Bill enjoyed attending her many performances. Bill treasured his special relationships with his children and grandchildren. Trips to family favorites like Plainwell Ice Cream, Fricano’s and Big T’s Restaurant in Lawton (where Bill is a member of the Tommy Tetuski Beer Drinking Club) created many special memories.

Sandy called Bill the man of her dreams and their deep love for one another was evident to all who witnessed their affectionate glances and many kisses. Bill expressed his love in simple ways like picking Sandy bouquets of lilacs, cooking special dinners and always bringing Sandy breakfast in bed.

Bill enjoyed playing golf with his best friend, Jim Dunn, and they also shared a love of gardening and craft beer. They were league champions in the KOMAG League at Milham Park in 2011. They served as best man at each other’s weddings. Occasionally their wives would join them to visit attractions around Michigan. No outing was complete without a stop at a craft brewery where Bill and Jim could talk about their favorite sports teams and compare stories about gardening. Bill also enjoyed the company of dear friends, Steve and Jan, and wonderful neighbors and work colleagues too many to mention who kept the good times going.

Bill loved watching football, baseball, basketball and golf especially the Detroit Lions and Tigers and the Men’s NCAA basketball tournament. For many years he loved participating in a football pool organized by a good friend and work colleague, Steve Rochow, and even won the pool once with Sandy as co-winner.

Family sports pools were another source of fun for Bill which he often won. Above all else Bill’s family meant the world to him and he would do anything to support them. His generosity will live on in the hearts and minds of his loved ones and his presence will be felt forever.

Bill Kuilema, age 76, passed away peacefully surrounded by the love of his wife and daughter on February 6, 2025. He was preceded in death by his sister and brother-in-law, Margaret and Denny Lynn, and sister-in-law, Jody Nelson.

Surviving is his wife, Sandy Kuilema; their children: Lindsay (Erin) Flynn and Joe Kuilema; and grandchildren: Eliza, Emerson and Wilder; siblings: Carol (Dane) Bowers and Curt Kuilema; and many nieces and nephews.

Please join us at an open house on Monday, February 17, 2025, at 5-7 pm at Betzler Life Story Funeral Home, 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo, (269) 375-2900 where food, drinks, and stories can be shared.

Celebrate Bill’s life online by sharing your favorite stories and photos on his dedicated web page at BetzlerLifeStory.com. Help support Bill’s love for the out of doors by making a contribution to Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. The family extends special appreciation to the wonderful caregivers at North Woods Village Memory Care and Centrica Care Navigators.