William Mohan

William “Bill” L. Mohan, 96, passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 29, 2015, at his home in Carmel, IN. With him at his passing were Bill’s wife and cherished companion of 68 years, Gloria, joined by his loving daughter Donna. Bill was born in January, 1919 in Portland, Maine and was the oldest son among his brother and two sisters. Bill served at Pearl Harbor during World War II as a Radar technician. Upon returning from the service, Bill met his partner in life, Gloria, while at a local dance at the YMCA – where, as Gloria tells it, she pretended to be older than she was. Following their marriage, they moved to Michigan where Bill was an electrical engineer at Willow Run Research Labs. There he met Sam Willits, a fellow engineer who became a long-time colleague and close friend. The Mohan and Willits families moved to Illinois in the early 1950’s where the two young engineers joined Chicago Aerial Industries. Following those productive years at CAI, Bill and Sam ventured out to form their own company, Spartanics Ltd. Here, they developed electro-optic registration and control systems, patenting several new methods in the technology now called ‘Machine Vision’. It was during this time that Bill and family moved to Barrington, Illinois, where he and Gloria enjoyed the next fifty years in the countryside of that area. Bill retired in his mid-seventies and pursued a growing interest in astronomy that led to Pine Hill Observatory being built at the Barrington home. Here, he spent many fine hours experimenting with optics, observing Sunspots and pondering the greater questions of life and universe. As Bill’s eyesight and mobility progressively declined, he and wife Gloria moved permanently to Carmel, IN to be close to daughter Donna and their grandchildren.

Those who knew Bill felt his kind hearted spirit, his generosity, and his enthusiasm for learning new things. He enjoyed the pleasures of red wine, a good game of chess, an occasional good cigar, and a wee bit of Jameson’s now and then. Bill was captivated by the goings on of Nature, and instilled in his children that same lifelong appreciation and deep curiosity.

Bill is survived by his loving wife Gloria; son Paul (Lavanya) Mohan; daughter, Donna Milivojevic; grandchildren, Michael (Shawna) Milivojevic, Lana (Cole) Lewis, Kasey, Asa and David (Joelle) Adinarayan; and three great-grandchildren.

A private graveside service was held at Evergreen Cemetery, Barrington, IL.