William R. Blair

William “Bill” Robert Blair, 77, of Zion, Illinois, a loving and hard-working husband, father, brother, and grandfather, was born into Eternal Life on Saturday, August 31, 2024, surrounded by his children.

Bill was born on October 2, 1946, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bill was a member of the 1965 graduating class from Custer High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. While in high school, he excelled in learning and was placed into accelerated classes. As a young man, Bill cared deeply for his sisters, as they lost both of their parents within years of each other. He tutored his younger sister in algebra and geometry, and taught her how to load his hunting rifle if needed for self-protection during the race riots of 1967. One time when his older sister used a deck of cards to build a village of card houses, Bill came into the room with a newspaper and played the role of a tornado, wiping out the entire card village. Bill sometimes had a certain way of explaining things; one time he hit his older sister with a hammer but explained that he was just holding the hammer and that she had run into it.

Bill worked hard for many years. He worked for the Milwaukee Sentinel in the mornings before school and for the Milwaukee Journal in the afternoons after school, and he kept the grass mowed during the warmer months and the sidewalks shoveled during the colder months. In 1966, Bill enlisted in the United States Navy. After enlisting, he spent some time stationed out on the east coast, and then served for about a year at the US Naval Reserve Depot in Subic Bay, Philippines.

After this time away, Bill returned home and began courting Bonita “Bonnie” Rozmarynowski, who he would marry in September 1971. When asked how they met, Bill would answer that they met at a Catholic Youth Organization dance and that night declared that she was the one he would marry. They did not start dating right away; instead, after he had a bad motorcycle accident, Bonnie asked her mother if she should go see him in the hospital. Bonnie did go to see him, and he quickly won over the hearts of her family. That began the rest of their lives, as they would spend more than 52 married years together.

Throughout his Navy career, Bill brought his family along for the adventure. From Milwaukee, he was transferred to the Naval Reserve Center in Oshkosh, WI, and then later back to Milwaukee. Next, he was moved to Charleston, SC, where he served aboard the USS Fearless (MSO-442), an ocean-going minesweeper. The Charleston tour saw him mostly taking training cruises around the Caribbean or to Bermuda, but one summer they crossed the Atlantic and anchored in several NATO ports in western Europe. After Charleston, Bill returned to the Midwest at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois. He had two tours in Great Lakes, first with the regional Naval Reserve Readiness Command, and then with the Construction Battalions (“Sea-Bees”). It was in Great Lakes where Bill received his final military promotion, to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Bill’s last tour in the Navy was in Willow Grove, PA, where he supported the Liberty Bells, a squadron of P-3 Orion submarine hunters. Bill loved to tell sea stories from his Navy years, including how he piloted one of the Orions for a while, how he went swimming in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, how he served as the navigator on the Fearless - having to guide the ship in and out of the Charleston harbor, and how his Navy career could have been much different – he initially went to submarine school but washed out due to his colorblindness. Bill gave about 27 years of his life in service to our country in the US Navy.

After he retired from military service, Bill and the family returned to northern Illinois, settling in Zion. Bill began his second career, working in the Adult Probation Services department of the Illinois Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, staying there for more than 26 years. During this time, he also served as an election judge for many years.

As Bill neared retirement and afterwards, he and Bonnie began vacationing more frequently. Three different times they rented a beach house in Folly Beach, SC, for the family – including all the kids and grandkids – to vacation together. Bill and Bonnie took multiple cruises, visiting Bermuda, Alaska, and the Caribbean. In his later years, Bill found enjoyment and kept his mind sharp by completing word searches and reading books. He probably read more books in the last few years than in the rest of his adult years!

Bill was a man of faith, participating in church for most of his life. He didn’t have a good singing voice like Bonnie, but that didn’t stop him from singing along with hymns and worship songs. Bill served as an usher and was once asked about becoming a deacon of his church in Waukegan.

Bill is survived by many family members, including his children Scott (Jennifer) Blair, Sarah Blair, Stephanie Blair, and Shannon Blair; his grandchildren David Blair, Anna Blair, Matthew Blair, and Zachary Blair; his sisters Barbara Brenzel and Sue Nelson; his brother and sisters-in law Michael (Karen) Rozmarynowski, Valerie (Ross) Henning, and Deanna LaForge; and numerous aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife Bonnie, his son Steven Blair, his parents Robert Blair and Grace (Lorscheter) Blair, his parents-in-law Mitchell Rozmarynowski and Genevieve (Cudnohowski) Rozmarynowski, and his brother-in-law William Rozmarynowski.

 In lieu of flowers, please make any memorial contributions out to Shannon Blair.

Visitation will be held Sunday, September 15, at Congdon Funeral Home, 3012 Sheridan Road, Zion, IL from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Funeral services will be held Monday, September 16 in the Chapel of the Chimes at Wisconsin Memorial Park, 13235 West Capitol Drive, Brookfield, WI, with visitation from 10:00am to 11:00am and memorial service from 11:00am to 12:00pm. Military honors and entombment to follow.