William J. Juodawlkis

William "Bill" J. Juodawlkis, age 91, of Livonia, Michigan passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 2, 2024. Loving father of Paul (Amy), Mark (Kim), Steven (Carol), Teresa (Andrew) Pesci, Julie (Rodney) Tackett, Michael (Amy), and Karen (Daniel) Hawk. Proud grandpa of James, Joshua, Andrew, Alexis (Brendan) Schuppe, Jacob, Melissa, Ethan, Brennan, Caleb, Ben, Joe (Hannah), Ryan, Mara, Isabella, Charlotte, and Austin. Beloved companion of Marianne Newberry. He will also be missed by many nieces and nephews.

Bill was preceded in death by cherished wife of 28 years, Mary Ann. Parents Justin and Julia Juodawlkis. Siblings Emily, Tony, Pete, and Anne. In-laws Andrew, Albena, Dennis, and Kenneth.

It is hard to understate the importance of “family” in Bill’s life. He was born in Detroit to Lithuanian immigrants and had four siblings. His Lithuanian heritage was always important to him and he became an active member of the Knights of Lithuania (KofL) as a young man. He met his future wife, Mary Ann Gillis, when they were both in the wedding party of friends they had made in the Lithuanian community. After a brief engagement, Bill and Mary Ann married on 3 August 1963 and began to grow their family soon after: Paul (1964), Mark (1965), Steven (1966), Teresa (1968), Julie (1970), Michael (1971), and Karen (1980). While he worked long hours and frequently traveled for his job, he always tried to be home for dinner and spent the evenings singing to his children while bathing them in the tub and reading to them before bed. He played sports with his kids and coached their teams. Following the premature passing of Mary Ann in 1991, he raised his youngest daughter on his own with the light-hearted assistance of his older children. He was proud of all of his children, enjoying attending their graduations and weddings, and watching them build their own families with a total of 16 grandchildren. Later in life, Bill was blessed to find love again with Marianne Newberry. Bill had a strong fondness for animals and the Juodawlkis home was continuously occupied by a cadre of dogs, cats, birds, fish, gerbils, reptiles, and rabbits. Bill became part of the Gillis family. He was like a son to Mary Ann’s parents (Andrew and Albena), and a brother to her brothers and their wives (Dennis and Judy, Kenneth and Cathy). The Juodawlkis house on Summers Street in Livonia was the epicenter of holiday parties, graduation parties, and summer pool parties with Dad/Uncle Bill/Grandpa J manning the grill.

Bill was employed for 43 years by the University of Michigan’s Willow Run Laboratories (later the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM) when the Labs separated from the University). He began his career there in 1951 after graduating from Fordson High School, initially in the mailroom. He soon received the opportunity to transition to an entry-level electronics technician role where he built and tested electronic circuits, subsystems, and electro-optic sensor systems. Bill had an exciting and unique career supporting US Government programs in which he did everything from soldering printed circuit boards (PCBs) to constructing complex electronic chassis to integrating sensor systems onto airborne testbeds that he then helped operate and setting up arrays of corner reflectors to calibrate airborne radar measurements. His work allowed him to travel to 48 of the 50 United States, missing only Hawaii and Alaska. Due to the nature of the projects that he worked on, he was not able to share many details of his field trips and would jokingly say “If I told you what I did, I would have to kill you.” To many at UofM and ERIM, Bill was fondly known only as “Ski”, a rearrangement of the letters at the end of his last name. While working and raising his young family, he took night classes at Henry Ford Community College and proudly received an Associate’s degree in Electronics Technology. He held a number of positions including senior electronics technician, field test engineer, and facilities manager. Upon his retirement from ERIM, Bill was granted the title of emeritus for his contributions to the organization and the Nation.

Bill was a lifelong athlete and sports enthusiast. He was an avid golfer, champion bowler, and slugger on the softball diamond. He often reminisced that he was so fast when he was a young man that he was nearly recruited to play football for Alabama, and such a good dancer that Arthur Murray wanted him as an instructor (these and other possibly apocryphal stories are cherished by Bill’s children and grandchildren). Later in life, Bill worked as a starter at a golf course, which came with the perk of “free golf”, leading him to state that it was the best job that he ever had.

At one point, Bill served as the National Sports Director for the KofL. Bill actively followed all of the Detroit sports teams (Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings, and Lions), and was hoping to live long enough to see the Lions win the Super Bowl. He was also a huge UofM sports fan and often shared a story of when he was stadium guard at a Michigan v. Ohio State football game when the crowd rushed the field and tore the goalposts down.

Bill was a deeply Catholic man and an active member of the St. Edith parish community for 55 years. He served on the St. Edith’s Men’s Club, played on the softball team, chaperoned religious retreats for high-school-aged parishioners, worked bingo fundraisers, sang in the funeral choir, and attended Mass every weekend. After the passing of his wife Mary Ann, Bill became active in the Knights of Columbus (KofC) and attained the level of Fourth Degree, serving as the Grand Knight of the Daniel A. Lord Council #3559 for five years. He also became a member of the Plymouth Ann Arbor Elks Lodge 325. As part of his expanded social network, Bill proudly organized a number of trips carrying busloads of seniors to casinos in Detroit and southern Michigan. He donated all of the proceeds from these gambling “junkets” to the charitable organizations to which he belonged.

William Juodawlkis was a well-loved family man who worked hard, played hard, prayed hard, and never went anywhere without making a friend. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him and loved him.

Contributions in Bill's memory are appreciated to Angela Hospice, who took outstanding and compassionate care of him in his final days.

A visitation will be held Monday, October 7, from 4:00pm-8:00pm at Harry J Will Funeral Home, 37000 Six Mile Rd, Livonia, MI 48152, with a rosary at 7:00pm. An in state will be held Tuesday, October 8, at 10:30am at St Edith Catholic Church, 15089 Newburgh Rd, Livonia, MI 48154, followed by a funeral mass beginning at 11:00am.