William "Bill" L. Dafoe

William L. Dafoe Jr. passed away peacefully on September 19, 2025 at home with family present after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. He is survived by his devoted wife, Elke Dafoe, his daughter Michele Jewell and her family (son-in-law George and grandchildren Madeleine and Cole), his daughter Julie Baptista and her family (son-in-law Matthew and grandchildren Gianna and Isabella), son Mark Dafoe (daughter-in-law Laura Ellen and grandchildren Joy, Sarah and Abby), daughter Karin Britton (and grandchildren Emily, Sam and Brad), sister Patsy Dafoe (partner Margery Kreitman and nephews Reid and Lawrence), sister Lori Hilton (brother-in-law Bill, nephew Richard and niece Gina), and brother Mark (nephew Jade and nieces Leanna and Katharine).

William ("Bill") was born 1/13/1938 in Seattle, Washington to father William Lawrence Dafoe and mother Catherine Calvert and grew up in Belleview, Washington. He attended the University of Washington and graduated in 1969 with a degree in Business Administration.

He married his first wife Sally Fleming in 1962 in Yokohama, Japan and had children Mark Dafoe and Karin Britton. He joined the Army in 1957 and later, stationed in Germany, met Elke Schufft, a German native. They were married in 1964 and had children Michele and Julie.

Bill joined Bank of America in 1969. Bill and Elke and their family traveled the world in his capacity as Regional Vice President for several branches of Bank of America, spending many years in Asia before returning to the U.S. in 1982.

Bill enjoyed tennis, traveling, hiking, running, camping with his kids, fishing with his brother, going to museums, being on the Puget Sound, and spending time with his beloved dogs.

A deep lover of his family, nature, books and music, he will be dearly missed, especially during holidays, where, though a lifelong introvert, he always played along with our family shenanigans. He had a great sense of humor despite having a contemplative and logical nature. We had a great life because of who he was and because of his quiet strength, guidance and love.