William Willetts III
June 26, 1951 — June 16, 2013
William B. Willetts III, 61, of Huntley, Illinois died at home.
Bill was born at Jacksonville Naval Hospital, Florida on June 26, 1951 to Donald and Mary Willetts.
He attended Arlington High School in Indianapolis, where he won two wrestling state championships. He earned bachelors and masters degrees from Indiana University Bloomington. There, he joined the wrestling team and Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and he attained a black belt in judo. In 1971, Bill won the Big 10 wrestling championship and went to Nationals, where he ranked seventh in the nation. He would later be inducted into the IU Wrestling Hall of Fame.
After graduation, Bill became head wrestling coach at Memphis State University and, later, at Montana State University. He returned to Indiana to teach and there earned his administrator’s license. Bill moved to Illinois to serve as Director of Transportation for District 15, where he was instrumental in the transportation department’s winning the national Leland E. G. Larson Quality Student Transportation Award. He was a sports enthusiast, enjoying golf, his beloved Cubs, and the Bears. What Bill loved most, he said, was spending time with his four children.
He is survived by his mother, Mary Willetts of Indianapolis; his sister, Patty Zody and husband, Roger of Oklahoma City; and his children, Vanessa Willetts and partner, David Finkelstein of Chicago, Valerie Willetts of Chicago, and Donny and Carley Willetts of Lake in the Hills, Illinois.
He was preceded by his father, Donald Willetts.
Visitation will be held at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 419 East Terra Cotta Avenue (Highway 176), Crystal Lake, IL 60014 on Saturday June 22, 2013 from 11 am until the time of the memorial service at 12:30 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Indiana University Foundation or the American Diabetes Association.