William "Bill" L. Reynolds

Bill was born in Mattoon, Illinois, on August 4, 1942 to Olta and Glayfa Reynolds from the small town of Windsor, Illinois. He graduated from Windsor High School, where he was a three sport athlete and earned a basketball scholarship to Eastern Illinois University. He was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. Following graduation, Bill began his career as a teacher and basketball coach at Tri-City High School, near Springfield, Illinois, and also met his future wife, Nancy Devall. They were married on May 29, 1966, five months after they met, and spent 55+ years together. In 1969 he accepted a teaching and coaching position at Rich East High School in the Chicago suburbs and in 1970 he and Nancy moved to Winona, Minnesota, where Bill completed his Master's Degree and became a college instructor and an assistant basketball coach at Winona State College.

In 1972, they returned to the Chicago suburbs where he spent the next 26 years at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, coaching and teaching. The Sandburg High School staff became a second family and they are still close friends to this day. Bill's Sandburg Eagles were a powerful basketball presence in the suburbs where they were noted for their fierce man to man defense and their ability to win numerous games against taller, stronger and more talented teams. They only played a zone defense twice; the opposing coach called a timeout and yelled across the gym, "You never play a zone!" A true testament to his influence on the lives of young men is in the number of visits and letters he received during the past two years from former players thanking him for the life lessons he taught them which made them successful in life.

Bill retired from coaching in 1990 but remained at Sandburg as a teacher. At various times he served on the school hiring committee, was the building union representative and was named Teacher of the Year. He also took the time to improve his tennis game and was immediately accepted into the Marco Island tennis group where lasting friendships were formed.

In 1982, Bill and Nancy purchased a handyman cottage at Indiana Beach on Shafer Lake in Monticello, Indiana. Over the years they improved it, added on, and made it a comfortable home. Many dear friends were made at the lake over the summers spent there.

Bill and Nancy visited Marco island for the first time in 1990 and fell in love with it before they had finished crossing the bridge. Within a year they purchased a vacation condo and when they both officially retired, built a home, becoming permanent residents.

Road trips throughout the United States and Canada led to cruises and travel throughout the world. Besides tennis, Bill was a life long Chicago Cubs fan. The World Series in 2016 was one of the high points of his life. He loved spending time in his boat or on his wave runner on the Gulf of Mexico.

Bill never met a stranger and was a devout Christian. He loved and was devoted to his family: Wife, Nancy, amazing sons, Brock (Amy) and Scott (Michelle), and four fantastic grandchildren (Preston, Shaling, Cooper and Chase). Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time. However, memorial donations may be made to United Church of Marco Island, the American Cancer Society, or The Sandburg Retired Teachers Scholarship.

Bill's family would like to thank the staff of Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and the kind and compassionate employees of Hampton Inn & Suites - Tampa North, Florida Cancer Specialists -Naples Sierra Meadows, Pastor Mark Williams, Hodges-Josberger Funeral Home and AVOW Hospice for their help and guidance over the past two years.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 23 at the United Church of Marco Island, 320 N Barfield Dr, Marco Island, FL 34145. A lunch reception will immediately follow at Kretch's Restaurant 527 Bald Eagle Dr, Marco Island, FL 34145. Barfield Dr, Marco Island, FL 34145.