SEIBER, WILLIAM D., (A.K.A "Dad," "Uncle Beer," "Uncle Billy," "Billy Goat," and "Grandpa"), 78, was born July 5, 1933, married December 29, 1967 and passed away at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville on December 15, 2011.
He was a civil engineer, military pilot, football fan, Catholic, gourmand, dog lover and beloved family man. Bill loved unconditionally, laughed whole-heartedly, and was a role model to all who knew him.
Bill is survived by his three siblings, John, James (Nick) and Judy Healy; his loving and devoted wife, Barbara Jean; their two sons, William and Timothy; and two grandchildren: Will and Shelley's seven-month-old daughter, Charley Lynne and Tim and Jennifer's five-month-old son, Louen Michael. A short count of his nieces, nephews, first and second cousins, godchildren and in-laws quickly approaches triple digits. The number of pure-love hugs he dispensed along with knuckle sandwiches and countless unforgettable nicknames defies calculation. In those years when children were supposed to be seen and not heard, he believed they should be turned upside down, tussled with, squashed in bear hugs, and given ice cream. His delight in the young was boundless.
Bill was born in 1933, and lived in New Albany, IN, Hannibal, MO, and Louisville. He graduated from Lillis High School in Kansas City in 1950 and went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering from Notre Dame in 1956. His devotion to the Notre Dame football team endured to the end of his life.
He joined the Air Force in 1956 and trained at Cherry Point, NC as a pilot. In 1967, he joined 123rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing of the Kentucky Air National Guard, flying out of Louisville's Bowman Field, rising to lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to base civil engineer and made responsible for building a military aircraft arresting barrier on a civilian airport, a first in the United States.
In 1985, Bill was the commander of the 123rd Civil Engineering Squadron when it won the Air National Guard's Outstanding Civil Engineering Unit award. The honor recognized the extraordinary efforts the unit made to fully train 45 heavy-equipment operators, sending them to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Fort Knox and Georgia. As a result, the unit was able to dispatch teams to provide crucial aid for far-flung projects, including both Wyoming and Germany.
"In July 1985," according to a report in The Phantom, the squadron's newspaper, "54 members of the unit were deployed to Rhein-Main AB, Germany, where a terrorist car bomb was detonated 200 feet from their living quarters. No members of the Kentucky unit were injured, and the unit volunteered to assist in damage assessment, bomb damage repair, explosive ordinance reconnaissance, and debris cleanup." Bill retired from the military in 1987. He worked as an engineering consultant with Rohm and Haas, the German-founded company with a long history in manufacturing, most notably Plexiglas.
He met Barbara Jean on a blind date and they married at Saint Raphaels in Louisville in 1967, and bought a white Southern Colonial home in Anchorage, KY. William Christopher was born in 1969, Timothy in 1971. Both graduated Trinity High School. Will attended The University of Oklahoma and studied meteorology and is now an international cargo pilot. Timothy earned a degree in metal work from the Cleveland Institute of Art and a master's degree in sculpture from Hunter College in New York. He is a world class artist and Jeweler in New York City, where he resides with his Wife and Son.
In 2001, Bill and Barbara Jean moved from Anchorage to a new home in Prospect, KY and bought a second house in the Florida Panhandle. Bill enjoyed spending time there, doling out treats to the neighborhood dogs and watching beautiful sunsets with Barbara. For many years, he took long walks on the beach with his old friend Captain, a chocolate lab.
A visitation is planned 6-8 p.m. January 5, 2012 at the Epiphany House, 914 Old Harrods Creek Road, Anchorage KY. Memorial services are planned 10 a.m. on January 6, 2012 at Epiphany Church. |