William G. Wittenmeier

Life for Bill started in the roaring 20’s in Chicago where the big bands played and horses pulled trolleys down the street. Bill loved to go to the movies for a nickel and watch the Western sequel of the week. He spent his summers at Turner camp, a German-American camp on the Fox River. He graduated from high school right as WWII was beginning and he signed up to be a Navy pilot. He began his career training in a Piper Cub, moved on to Curtis P40s, F4F Wildcats and finally finishing his career flying a Grumman F6F Hellcat.

As a young boy Bill worked as a butcher’s assistant, sold magazines, and rode his bicycle through the streets of Chicago delivering Western Union messages to businesses. After being honorably discharged from the Navy, he attended Moody Bible Institute. Hearing about the Navigator ministry and its impact with servicemen, he moved to California to join the ministry there, living with Lila and Dawson Trotman. When the Navigator ministry purchased Glen Eyrie in Colorado, he moved with them, helping to restore the property and remaining to work with the maintenance crew there for another 6 years. After he was married he lived and worked at the Broadmoor Hotel as the pool manager before moving to Denver to manage the pool at the Celebrity Sports Center. When Celebrity Sports Center was sold he took a position with IBM Boulder and worked there for the next 25 years in a variety of different positions in the manufacturing area. There was a waiting list of companies who wanted Bill to work on their machines because he was so meticulous at his work that the machines did not return for repair. After retirement he moved to San Diego to lovingly care for his mother and enjoy the sun and golf. After 12 years, and the passing of his mother, he returned to Colorado to enjoy his grandkids, purchasing a small acreage and making the transition from a city boy to a country gentleman.

In his spare time he loved to play sports, as a young man he played water polo, trained with Olympic swimmers, and loved to play baseball and ping pong with his kids. One of his favorite games was golf, he taught his son and son-in-law, and he played in golf tournaments with IBM, even winning a trophy in 1972. He was a long time Broncos and Rockies fan remaining faithful through the good and bad years, and always optimistic about their chances. He liked working on cars and finishing unfurnished furniture. He also loved to save money especially on gas, and when mom was not in the car he would turn the car off at the top of the hill and try to coast all the way into the driveway. He tried not to hit the brakes, going over the speed bumps without slowing down and bouncing the kids off the roof. He enjoyed testing his abilities by competing in road rallies for the best gas mileage on a specific route.

He met the love of his life at a Bible study at First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs. They were married in September 1960 and celebrated their 50th anniversary last September. Dad was a faithful husband and father, and resolved to be a family man, taking care of his wife and family rather than being busy with other things. He raised three children, Kathy, Leslie and Chuck and was the best dad ever; teaching them to play sports, be responsible and to keep on trying even if they failed. He took his family camping and on cross country trips to see family and left behind many memories of time spent in the green Ford station wagon with the small Scotsman camper.

Being a granddad was his favorite pastime. He enjoyed passing on his legacy of being faithful to God to his 11 grandkids. He would come up to one of his grandkids and share his verse of the day and then ask them what their favorite verse was. He took his grandkids on tractor rides, pushed them down the hill sledding, listened to their stories, came to their activities, drove them to lessons, and bragged about them to his friends. He prayed for his grandkids to carry on the legacy of knowing God and making Him known.

He taught his family to follow God by following God. He would lead family devotions and his favorite passages were of David’s life. He was not perfect but he was faithful at asking for forgiveness and not letting the sun go down on his anger. He loved God’s word and took it to heart memorizing over a thousand verses and regularly reviewing them. He did not just memorize the verses, but meditated on them so that he grew in wisdom allowing him to be able provide the perfect verse for almost any life situation. His love for God’s word was infectious and he brought many people to the Lord. Bill’s love for God flowed into a love for his family, and for everyone around him. His faithfulness has made an impact that will last for many generations.