William "Bill" J. Hail Jr.

Bill was born in Changsha, Hunan Province, China on May 10, 1922 to William James Hail, Sr. and Alice Inghram Hail. After the family returned to the U.S. in 1927, Bill grew up in Wooster, Ohio.

Bill received a B.A. in History from The College of Wooster, Ohio. During World War II, he served in the Army in the American Theater including Bermuda, British Territory, and Hebron in Labrador, Canada. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of S/SGT. He went on to earn his M.S. in Geology from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he met his wife, Dorothy, while she was working as a librarian in the Engineering Library.

Bill was married to Dorothy Marie Drach on November 9, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Bill was a geologist with the U. S. Geological Survey, working out of the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood. Bill spent substantial time in the field, primarily generating maps of the Western Slope of Colorado. Following his retirement in 1994, at age 72, Bill participated in the USGS Scientist Emeritus program.

Bill was a member of The College of Wooster Alumni Association and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE). He also was a Senior Fellow in the Geological Society of America with an interest in Stratigraphy/Sedimentology.

Bill was an avid reader, with a keen interest in history. He enjoyed a variety of music, and played the piano and guitar by ear. His family and friends enjoyed his witty, dry sense of humor. He fixed everything that broke. Bill rarely went a day without a long walk and Bill and Dorothy’s home was never without dogs, beginning with Rover.

Bill is survived by his wife, Dorothy; children, Martha (John), Carol, and Tom (Gretchen); grandchildren, Adam (Leigh), Anna, Jillian (Steven), Will, and Pate; and great grandson Benjamin. He was preceded in death by his sisters Elisabeth, Alicia, and Rebekahmary.

A Funeral Service will be held on December 20, 2018 at 10:00 a.m., Olinger Hampden Mortuary, 8600 E. Hampden Ave., Denver, CO 80231. A luncheon reception will follow the Funeral. Burial will take place at 1:00 p.m. at Fort Logan National Cemetery, 4400 W. Kenyon Ave., Denver, CO 80236, Staging Area "A".