William Andres, Jr

William E. Andres, Jr., 69, of Lakewood and formerly of Arlington Heights, passed away peacefully Thursday, January 22, 2015 at his home.

Born on June 15, 1945 in Chicago, he was the son of the late William E. Sr. and Genevieve (nee Jacobs) Andres.

Bill graduated from Arlington Heights High School in 1964; he proudly served in the US Marine Corp and the reserves.

On April 22, 1967, at St. James Church in Arlington Heights, Bill was united in marriage to his grade school sweetheart, Ginny L. Gaenzle.

Bill was an entrepreneur, starting work at a very young age, working at Oehler and Glueckert funeral homes in Arlington Heights. Bill began working for the Arlington Heights Fire Department on November 20, 1967 and was in the first paramedic class. After 20 years of service with the fire department, Bill retired early in 1987. In 1979 he founded the original Rescue 8 Paramedic Service in Arlington Heights, staring with one ambulance and growing the fleet to 25 ambulances and 15 medicars, all in different color combinations. In 1997 he founded Andres Medical Billing, Ltd., specializing in outsourced EMS billing. Bill began working at Davenport Family Funeral Homes in 2005, serving those in need, and soon became an instrumental member of the Davenport staff. Bill exemplified the American Dream through hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Bill’s survivors include his wife, Ginny; and their children, William Andres III and Danette (Patrick) Mannix of Lakewood. He was the loving grandfather of Kylie, William IV, and Jami Andres and Ryan, Meghan and Morgan Mannix. He is also survived by his siblings, Arlene “Cookie” (Dean) Stewart, Lawrence (Debra) Andres, and Kathleen (Scott) Stoeckel; and many dear nieces, nephews, and friends.

Visitation will be from 4-8pm, Sunday, January 25 with a 7pm Eulogy service at Davenport Family Funeral Home & Crematory, 419 E Terra Cotta Ave (IL Rt. 176), Crystal Lake. Prayers will be offered at the funeral home at 10:15 am, Monday, January 26, processing to St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 451 W Terra Cotta Ave, Crystal Lake for the Funeral Mass at 11am. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in Bill’s name may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka KS 66675 or to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, PO Box 498, Emmitsburg MD 21727.

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