William (Bill) Carl Kran, 83, passed away on November 5, 2018 in Clearwater, Fl. He was born July 30, 1935, in Coal Valley, IL to Vivian (Seaman) Fay Kran and Carl August Kran. He is survived by his wife, Maia Renata (Hansen) Kran, his children Kristin Renata Muntzing (Steve), Carl William Kran (Jane), and four grandchildren Bridget Houck (Russell), 2nd Lt. Erik Muntzing USMC, Britton Kran and Maia Kran.
Prior to College, Bill completed a 108-week set of courses at DeVry Technical Institute in Chicago where he received a First-Class Radio FCC license that allowed him to be employed by the University of Illinois Radio Service. This, along with summer employment in Butler Building construction, provided enough funds which allowed him to pay for University costs.
In January 1962, Bill earned his degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois. Bill and Maia were married on February 17, 1962. They started their lives together in Sunnyvale, CA where Bill worked for Lockheed Missile Systems Division. In August 1965, Bill and Maia moved to Cedar Rapids, IA where he was employed by Collins Radio Company until January 1972 when Collins was combined with North American Rockwell. The new company cancelled the Collins research group causing Bill to be laid off. The following day, January 22, 1972, Bill found employment with Honeywell in Clearwater, FL. While at Honeywell, Bill worked on a system control structure to automatically find and provide repair to the European Wide Digital Microwave. The last program Bill worked on for Honeywell was the THAAD (Theater High Altitude Area Defense) anti-missile which is presently deployed in many areas where US defenses are necessary. Bill remained employed by Honeywell until he retired in April 2001.
Bill and Maia enjoyed their lives together with many cherished trips, which included visits to National Parks, Alaska, Europe, and to Estonia where Maia was able to retrace some of her heritage from the sad calamity of WWII, and the impact it made on her life. Bill never lost his passion for boating, especially in the Gulf waters where he enjoyed casting plugs for the fun of the catch. Bill cared deeply for his family and loved spending time with his children and grandchildren whenever possible.
A service to honor Bill’s memory will be held at First United Methodist Church of Oviedo, 263 King Street, Oviedo, FL 32765 at 5 PM on November 17, 2018. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, 230 East Ohio Street, Suite 500, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
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