William Joe Sanders

Bill was born in Detroit, Michigan and had one sister, Eleanor. He was a lifelong Michigander, growing up in Durand and spending his childhood summers fishing, hiking, and enjoying the outdoors at North Crooked Lake near Mancelona in northern Michigan. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University and he served in the U.S. Air Force.

He married Verna at the Dearborn Woods United Presbyterian Church. Before moving to Grand Rapids, MI in 1967, the couple lived in St. John Woods (Berkley), MI and Ann Arbor, MI. He received a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1963. In Grand Rapids, he worked for Lear Siegler, Inc., designing, building, and testing some of the earliest fly-by-wire aircraft guidance systems. In early 2023, he moved to East Lansing, Michigan to be close to his son Rob and his family.

Bill was a lifelong learner, reader, and enjoyed traveling with his wife during retirement. Throughout his life he enjoyed spending time at the family cabin on North Crooked Lake, enjoying the outdoors and company of his family and friends who gathered there.

He is survived by his sister Eleanor, his two sons Robert and William Sanders, their respective wives Echo Hansen and Emily Sanders, and four grandchildren Bryden Sanders, Elizabeth Sanders, Macy Sanders, and Zachary Sanders.

A private memorial service will be held at a date to be determined. Bill was a lifelong lover of animals. Memorial gifts in Bill’s name (William J. Sanders) may be given to the Humane Society of West Michigan (https://www.hswestmi.org/).

He was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by all those he left behind.