William R Bower

BOWER, William Russell 93. On September 19, Bill Bower left this earth to be reunited with his beloved wife Carol (Crabill) and so many family and friends who preceded him. He leaves behind three adoring children, Ann McCartney, Bill (Marita) and John, six grandchildren Megan, Corbin, Joe, Landon, Benjamin and Maddie, two great grandchildren Forest and Mars, as well as his sister-in-laws Jeanne and Shirley, and many nieces, nephews and their families. In addition to his family, Bill touched so many lives with his generous, engaging, wise and humorous character: neighbors, basketball and baseball players, friends of every age, colleagues and almost anyone he encountered.

Bill was born in Marion, Indiana at the start of the Great Depression on August 8, 1930. He was the fourth of five children born to his parents Elrie Emmett and Anna Jewel (Kegley) Bower. The family moved to Fort Wayne when he was 6. Bill attended South Side High School graduating in 1948. Bill went on to become a gifted and accomplished collegiate athlete, excelling at both baseball and basketball at Michigan State (1948-52) where he was named the captain of the basketball team and most valuable player on the baseball team in his senior year. After college he served a year in the Air Force (1953) being stationed in Denver and at Wright Patterson. At 22, he was signed by the Chicago Cubs and played minor league ball in Macon and Cedar Rapids. He also played baseball for various men’s semi-pro and summer leagues throughout his teens and early twenties (Junior and Senior Federation, American Legion Post 47, and won the National Baseball Congress national and global championship with Allen Dairy in 1956).

In 1956 Bill met the love of his life, Carol Crabill, and the two were married in December of 1957, living briefly in Minneapolis at the beginning of his career at Central Soya. When they moved back to Fort Wayne, Bill worked as the President of Wildcat Baseball and once miraculously took 3,500 boys to a Chicago Cubs game without losing a single child. He later established a successful career in commercial real estate development at Lincoln National Company, eventually becoming president of the Lincoln National Company Development Corporation. During his time at Lincoln he had been transferred to Atlanta from 1967-1971. When LNCDC was sold in 1984, Bill returned his family to Atlanta and started his own company William R Bower Company and ended his career with Knight Davidson.

Bill loved to play golf and was a member at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Fort Wayne, Atlanta National Country Club and Sea Pines Country Club in Hilton Head. He was a man of faith and attended Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne and Rivercliff Lutheran Church in Atlanta. While in Fort Wayne, Bill continued sharing his passion and knowledge of baseball and basketball through coaching little league baseball at Village Woods and youth basketball for the YMCA. He took great pleasure mentoring young players and made numerous lifetime friendships among the kids he coached with his engaging, humorous disposition and caring nature. This continued throughout his senior years where he would quickly befriend neighbors of any age during his daily neighborhood walks with his beloved dog Rocky. And of course, he would lavish this attuned presence and incredible generosity to his children, grandchildren and relatives most of all, and it is this spirit that will live on in all of us who were so fortunate to be a part of this wonderful man’s life.

The family is planning a small private service to honor the man who we all loved deeply. Donations can be made in his name to either Southeast Revival Baseball, Inc. at P.O. Box 10836, Fort Wayne, IN 46854 or to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.