William Joseph Reetz

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife of 47 years, Cheryl; and his brother, Roger. He is survived by daughters, Megan and Sarah; sisters, Ann Briody and Patricia Brey; son-in-law, Brad Chelton; grandchildren, Cora, Eden, and Ada; and several nieces and nephews.

Bill graduated from St. Augustine’s High School in Kalamazoo and still enjoyed monthly lunches with his classmates at the Blue Dolphin ordering his tried-and-true Club sandwich. He was a proud Michigan State University graduate where his sturdy stature and stubborn mindset earned him a spot with the football team playing with friend, Bubba Smith. A decorated veteran of the United States Army, Bill served as a Captain in the Medical Command Units; he pridefully served for 37 years before retiring honorably. In his civilian life, Bill began working in gas stations while at MSU and he continued his work in the automotive industry having retired from Benteler Automative as a Quality Assurance Engineer, missing the technology wave to which everyone in the IT help center was thankful for.

While Bill loved all things cars and motors, sailing was truly his favorite. Many summers were spent as a family in South Haven on Lake Michigan and living the lake life with friends who became family. He enjoyed “teaching” his daughters about sailing by hoisting them up a mast while the boat was in the water to fix a wayward halyard or by letting them hold onto a rope in the water behind the boat while he sailed. He was a prolific sailor having sailed his own boat ‘Tiltin’ Hilton’ amongst others and served as the Chairman of the Racing Committee for the South Haven Yacht Club. He sailed too many nautical miles to count – from Chicago to Mackinaw, to the UP, and across the states in countless regattas.

In retirement, he was always up for an adventure. He delivered a bike to Sarah in Arizona by car for fun, took road trips with his sisters to see the UP, and traveled with Megan to see Sarah and Brad and his favorite grandchildren by car with no stops (no injuries reported). One of his most memorable trips was being part of a three-man crew with his sailing brothers taking a boat from Grand Haven to Tampa Bay, FL that lasted 35 days on multiple waterways. He even had his next adventure planned and was looking forward to an upcoming cruise from Seattle to Alaska in May.

Most importantly, Bill was just a good guy! Although his size and stern voice could be intimidating, Big Bill Reetz was a softy; he would do anything to help his friends or family. He would give you (mostly Sarah) the $20 handshake when you came home from college, let you use his mechanical pencil as long as you promised to give it back, make a huge mess in the kitchen if it meant he got to cook a meal for you, or surprise you with a present long after you even mentioned it. So in lieu of flowers, just be good; take the trip or adventure; buy the present; or use the mechanical pencil to do a Sudoku puzzle – he sure could solve those pesky puzzles.