Wilhelm "Bill" Bilgram

Bill was employed by the engineering firm of Fink, Roberts and Petrie (FRP) as an engineer. He was its chairman and CEO for ten years until his retirement in 1990. Bill was the structural engineer for many Indianapolis and Indiana buildings, including the Hoosier Dome, Clowes Hall, Indianapolis Convention Center, the Indianapolis City-County Building, IUPUI Natatorium and Track and Field Stadium, several I.U. Medical Center buildings, Indianapolis Motor Speedway structures, and a number of buildings on the I.U. Bloomington campus. He worked on the structural design of the Volkswagon assembly plant in Pennsylvania and the Opera House in Guatemala.

Bill was a volunteer for Executive Service Corps; was a founding member of The Athenaeum Foundation, serving on its Board of Directors; and was a member of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ. In addition, he was a member of the Athenaeum Turners, Rotary Club, Scientech and the Indiana German Heritage Society. Bill was instrumental in forming the Metropolitan Indianapolis Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, served on its board of directors and was given an award for meritorious service to the organization. He was also a life member of Consulting Engineers of Indiana. Bill was granted the position of Trustee Emeritus for the Athenaeum Foundation, given the Athenaeum Turners Achievement Award and the Honor Award by the Central States District of the American Turners, and named a Paul Harris Fellow by The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

For fifteen years, Bill produced and presented a weekly German music program, the first of its kind in Indianapolis. Dignitaries who participated on the program included German Chancellor Ludwig Erhardt and the famous Austrian composer, Robert Stoltz.

He is survived by his wife, Renee; two stepsons, Charles Ellsworth and Ralph Waldo; seven step-grandchildren and three nieces and a nephew in Germany. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jane Ellsworth Bilgram, a stepdaughter, Virginia Ellsworth Bunyard, a sister, Berta Keopff and his twin brother Hans Bilgram, both of Memmingen, Germany.

Visitation for Bill will be from 4-7 pm today, Wednesday, January 2nd at Leppert Mortuary – Nora Chapel. Funeral services will begin at 11:00 am on Thursday, January 3rd at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ (3106 East Carmel Drive

Carmel, IN 46033) with additional visitation there beginning at 10:30 am prior to services. Interment follows at Crown Hill Cemetery. Memorial contributions are suggested to: St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, the Athenaeum Foundation, the Indiana German Heritage Society or to Wheeler Mission. Online condolences available at: www.leppertmortuary.com