William J. Laskey

Bill was born to William Jennings and Gertrude Laskey on October 3, 1922, in Chicago. Bill loved music and began playing clarinet and saxophone as a boy. By high school, he was playing big band gigs, eventually performing with Charlie Thornill and Claude Ventura. He served in World War II in the Army Air Corps as a radio operator, stationed in India.

After the war, Bill studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, where he met his future wife Joanne. He also studied at Roosevelt University and the University of Illinois, earning a BA in Clarinet Performance and an MA in Music Education. Bill then embarked on a career as a high school band director, teaching for nine years in the small town of Rossville, Illinois. In 1963, Bill and Joanne moved to Crystal Lake where Bill eventually became head of the music department at Crystal Lake Central (Community) High School. During his tenure, he taught beginning band, symphonic band, jazz band, marching band, and music theory and appreciation. He also conducted the pit orchestra for the annual school musical.

In the 1970s, Bill expanded and revamped the Crystal Lake marching band program to include summer competitions. The Heraldry Guard, which included students from both Central and South High Schools, took part in more than a dozen competitions each summer throughout the Midwest. Under Bill’s leadership, the band won numerous competitions and accolades for their marching, innovation, and musicianship. It was ranked among the top 10 marching bands nationally.

Following his retirement from teaching in 1980, Bill became an accomplished photographer, with his work appearing in national magazines and even on billboards. At the age of 79, he took flying lessons and achieved his long-held dream of earning a pilot’s license. He also found time to travel, golf, play bridge, and attend theatre performances. And he remained immersed in music, conducting musicals at the Woodstock Opera House and recording several solo CDs that featured him playing jazz standards on saxophone. In recent years, the Crystal Lake Strikers drumline established the William Laskey scholarship, awarded each year to aspiring percussion students. Bill also was honored to be chosen as the grand marshal for Crystal Lake’s Independence Day Parade (2015).

Bill is survived by his children, Elizabeth (Bruce) Laskey, John (Liz) Laskey, Mary (Grant) Laskey, and James Laskey, as well as his dear companion, Betty Jean Stoltze.

In addition to his parents and sister (Dorothy Smith), Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Joanne, on June 22, 1995. A loving father, uncle, friend, and an inspirational teacher, Bill will be greatly missed.

Visitation will be on June 29 at Querhammer & Flagg Funeral Home, 500 W. Terra Cotta Ave., Crystal Lake, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. There will be a memorial service on June 30 at 10:00 AM at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 210 McHenry Ave. Crystal Lake.

For those wishing to send an expression of condolence, the family suggests memorials be sent to Pioneer Center for Human Services, 4031 W. Dayton Street, McHenry, IL 60050.

https://www.pioneercenter.org/support/make-a-donation-today/