William L Wainwright

William Lloyd (Bill) Wainwright passed away peacefully from complications of dementia at Frasier Meadows Health Care Center on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. He was 89. He was a resident of Frasier Meadows Retirement Community for 19 years.

He was born on December 8, 1927 to John William (Jack) Wainwright and Jeannette Streeter Wainwright in Fostoria, Ohio. He was the youngest of three children.

He married Jean Pierce on June 24, 1951. They met in high school at ages 14 and 16! They would be celebrating 66 years of marriage on June 24, 2017.

Bill grew up on a farm in in LaGrange County, northeast Indiana. He graduated from Wolcottville High School in 1945. He served in the U.S. Army Occupation Forces with time in Japan. After the service he received his bachelor’s and master’s degree from Purdue University in Engineering Mechanics and his doctorate degree from the University of Michigan. He taught through graduate school.

His first job was at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. From there he taught and did research at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1964, he accepted a teaching position at the University of Colorado in the Mechanical Engineering department, where he taught for 30 years. He loved teaching and was popular with the students. He said, “The Golden Rule is to treat students as people. They have feelings and are intelligent.” He received the C.U. Student Development Foundation Teaching Recognition Award.

Music was always an important part of his life. His parents, sister and brother were professional musicians. His father began the summer music camp at Oliver Lake in northeastern Indiana. At six years of age, Bill directed the band at camp on occasion.

At Purdue he and three fraternity brothers formed a barbershop quartet, “The Varsity Four.” They performed nationally and won 5th place in the International Barbershop Competition in 1949. Bill also sang in Mountain View United Methodist Church chancel choir for 50 years and sang solos on many occasions. He arranged music for quartets and marimba.

Bill enjoyed his family, friends, music, books, photography, traveling and having coffee with his male friends where they discussed the problems of the world.

He is survived by his wife, Jean, and children, Jill Peper (Randy), Jain Wainwright, Jack Wainwright and Joseph Wainwright (Monica). He has 10 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren with two more expected in 2017.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. at Mountain View United Methodist Church, 355 Ponca Place, Boulder on Saturday, June 10, 2017.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Mountain View United Methodist Church Endowment Fund or Frasier Meadows Staff Scholarship Endowment Fund. Arrangements under the direction of Crist Mortuary, Boulder, CO.