Bill Wilson

William “Bill” Wilson was a delightful man, quick to use his famous “one liners” to put others at ease. He was intelligent and talented and used his skills in a variety of ways. Most importantly, Bill was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, willing to help his loved ones in any way he could.

William H. Wilson entered the world in the middle of the Roaring Twenties, a time of excitement and energy in the United States. He was born on June 3, 1925, in Allegan, Michigan to William, Sr. and Isabelle (Jackson). Bill, as he was called, was just an infant when his family moved to Kalamazoo. Here, his mother stayed home to raise him while his father earned a living working maintenance. Bill was an only child and led a typical childhood of the time. He sang in the choir at St. Luke’s as a young boy and attended the area schools. Like many young men of the time, Bill received his draft notice from the U.S. Navy while in his senior year at Kalamazoo Central. He soon shipped out to serve in the Pacific aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE 413) as a Second Class Gunner’s Mate. Tragically, the USS Samuel B. Roberts was sunk just six months later by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Battle off Samar on October 25, 1944. Bill was one of the few survivors and received his honorable discharge in 1946.

Upon his return home from the service, Bill went back to school and earned his GED. He then attended Western Michigan University, earning 2 Bachelor Degrees – one in heating and cooling, and another in engineering. It was while in campus at WMU that Bill met his first wife, Elisa Soegaard, who was a student in the OT program. The two dated, fell in love and were happily married on December 23, 1948, in Puerto Rico, where Elisa was from. The newlyweds settled into married life together in Kalamazoo and finished their college educations. Then, in 1952, Bill and Elisa delighted in welcoming the birth of their son, Bill, their only child. As a father, Bill was active and attentive in his son’s life, supporting him in all his endeavors. One of his favorite activities was being a Scoutmaster for his son’s Scout Troop.

Always a hard worker, Bill spent his life balancing work with being a loving husband and father. Over the years, he used his skills and talents as a Design Engineer working in Quality Control at various companies in Kalamazoo, including Shakespeare, National Waterlift, Aeromotive and Ronigen-Petter. Outside of work, Bill found time to enjoy some of his favorite activities, like bowling, watching NASCAR, keeping up with his favorite driver, Jeff Gordon, and eating (there wasn’t a food he didn’t like, except beets). An avid model builder, Bill painstakingly putting together model boats, trains or cars; he had such a steady hand and tremendous patience when working on the models. Bill and Elisa enjoyed taking a cruise on the Caribbean together, and they never missed attending one of the Navy DE413 reunions, an event that was very near and dear to Bill’s heart. Tragically, Bill lost his beloved wife, Elisa, to ovarian cancer on December 8, 1994; they were married for 46 wonderful years.

As fate would have it, Bill began to foster a friendship with Esther Glassman, whose husband died 10 weeks before his Elisa died. It happened that Esther was already friends with Bill’s mom through the Catholic daughters, and Bill was the Scoutmaster for her son, Jim. It wasn’t long before their friendship blossomed into romance and Bill and Esther were married on October 19, 1996, by Bishop Paul V. Donovan at St. Augustine Cathedral. After a honeymoon in Northern Michigan, the couple returned home in Kalamazoo, and began enjoying the simple pleasures of their lives together. Whether they were eating out, picking weeds from the yard, listening to classical and Big Band music or just talking, they cherished their time together. Bill was a great handyman and could fix just about anything (well, except car engines); he had a shop in the basement that he could work on whatever needed fixing.

Bill and Esther loved to travel and continued the tradition of attending the Navy reunions. In 1996, the couple began heading west to Sun City, Arizona for warmer winter weather – they left out in early November and didn’t return until mid May. They settled in quickly to their winter community, and made many new friends. Bill stayed active doing lawn bowling, sailing radio controlled boats, and belonged to a boat club and model railroaders. He and Esther were members of the area Recreation Center, where she took ceramic classes, and they were faithful attendees of St. Clement of Rome in Sun City, where they played bingo every Tuesday night. In addition, Bill was a 4th Degree Knight at the Knights of Columbus, where they also played bingo. Bill and Esther were both delightful people to talk to and a pleasure to be around. Although Bill had a quiet, easygoing nature, he could always lighten up the moment with one of his countless one-liners that left everyone smiling.

Bill had suffered some health problems associated with his COPD, and moved to Friendship Village about 8 weeks ago for more extensive care. It was here that he passed away on Sunday, June 26, 2011, at the age of 86. All who knew and loved Bill will treasure his memory.

Learn more about Bill, view his Life Story film, and share in some refreshments with his family and friends on Wednesday, June 29, from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Life Story Funeral Home, Betzler, 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo (375-2900), where a prayer service will be held at 7:30 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, June 30, at 11 a.m. at St. Monica Catholic Church. A luncheon will follow in the Life Story Center. Private burial will take place at a later date.

Bill was preceded in death by his first wife, Elisa Wilson, granddaughter, Carrie Hollanbaugh, and by a step-son, Robert Glassman. He is survived by his wife of 15 years, Esther Glassman-Wilson; a son, Bill R. (Rhonda) Wilson; grandson, Jessie Hollanbaugh; great-grandson, Brandon Williams; 2 step-sons: Richard (Kathleen) Glassman and James (Betty) Glassman; step-daughter-in-law, Linda Glassman; and many step grand and great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Please visit Bill’s personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com, where you may share a memory, upload a photo and sign his online guest book. Memorial donations may be directed to American Heart Association or American Lung Association.