William J. Tattersall

The Honorable William James Tattersall, 93, of Bethlehem, PA, passed away in Falls Church, Virginia on December 16, 2025. Born in 1932 in Wilkes-Barre, PA, as the youngest of six children growing up in the anthracite coal region in the height of the Great Depression, William was a man of principle who valued family, country, friendship, an honest day’s work and a good joke. He was known as “Bill” to his family and friends and “Uncle Billy” to his many nieces and nephews, several of whom remain in Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding areas. He was preceded in death by his parents, James Tattersall and Harriett Moreau Tattersall and all five of his older siblings: Nancy Tattersall Dare, Kathleen Marie Pedersen, James (Buddy) Tattersall, Harriett Burns and Richard (Mickey) Tattersall.

His first marriage to Joan Burns ended in divorce. He married Dr. Mary Anne Luzar in 1991 in Brussels (Waterloo), Belgium after meeting when both were employed in Belgium at the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) and Baxter Corporation, respectively. They shared 33 years of marriage and a loving daughter, Mary Isabelle Tattersall. He has three children from his first marriage: William Tattersall (Paula), James Tattersall and Christine Griffith (Scott). Bill left behind four grandchildren: Jacqueline, Thomas and Kayla Griffith and Liam Tattersall.

Although he traveled the world and realized many great accomplishments, Bill’s heart was always connected to his childhood neighborhood in the East End of Wilkes-Barre, PA. He was truly a self-made man, the first to go to college in his family. While he was proud of his career, he was also proud of his horses, Bill and Red, and his goat Nelly. He often rode to school on horseback which he said was more fun than playing football. When his family moved to a farm in Hunlock Creek, he and his brother Mickey, both teenagers, did the farm chores including putting up hay and plowing the hill fields on foot with a one bottom plough pulled by two horses.

Bill graduated from James H Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre in 1950 and worked as a roofer for the family business until he was drafted into the U.S. Army serving honorably from 1952-54 during the Korean War. Thanks to the GI Bill, Bill obtained a B.A. from Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA in 1960 where he was president of the Veterans Club. While working for the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Bill obtained his Juris Doctor in 1967 from DePaul University School of Law in Chicago, IL. He was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association. This was followed by over thirty years of Labor-Management Relations and twenty years of Labor-Law experience.

Bill had an exciting career with The Bethlehem Steel Corporation and he was proud to be part of this storied company. While in Moravian College, he worked nights in the open-hearth ovens so hot for steelmaking that work was twenty minutes on and twenty minutes off. After he got his degree, he entered the company Management Training Program completing the Loop Course. As a “Looper” he was exposed to all the areas of production and management in Bethlehem Steel. Bill held a variety of high-level positions managing labor and legislation. He served as a Senior Labor Attorney in Industrial Relations and as Labor Counsel and Assistant to the Vice President in Mining. He was also Manager of State Government Affairs in the late seventies.

In 1979, Bill was selected by the American Iron and Steel Institute to represent the U.S. Steel Industry becoming the Deputy Secretary General of the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) located in Brussels, Belgium. He spent ten years at IISI, a non-profit research organization whose members were steel producing companies, national steel federations and steel research associations from some 50 countries worldwide. His work during that decade took him to 39 countries. A social person, Bill joined the American Club of Brussels and served as the President for many years. He met people from all walks of life in this role and he always made sure the 4th of July Celebration would be an unforgettable event.

An advocate of mining safety and health programs, Bill served as Assistant Secretary of Labor, a presidential appointee, from 1989-1993 with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in the Department of Labor. He provided leadership and policy direction of MSHA programs for 400,00 miners in 16,000 mining operations by administer ing the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

Bill’s experience in government was followed by an appointment as the first President and CEO appointed by the Board of Directors of the National Environmental Education and Training Center, a non-profit corporation chartered in Pennsylvania dedicated to environmental issues and worker safety and health. A safer workforce with access to training, education and career advancement was a lifelong goal of this man who had experienced firsthand the challenges this goal entailed.

In retirement, Bill stayed active and always reached out to friends far and near. He was an avid art collector and loved live auctions which he attended often. He taught his youngest child, Mary Isabelle, who often attended auctions with him, how to bid when she could barely count. At a cattle auction at his niece and nephew’s farm, he barely had time to reverse her winning bid on a calf that she was eagerly planning to bring home. He was a man of many interests including his beloved dogs, reading, antique cars, music, and much more. Above all, he loved to give advice and tell stories. As a lawyer, he gave himself permission to “take a short story and make it long”. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends and the many people who interacted with him in ways both big and small.

Please consider a contribution in Bill’s honor to the Monastery of the Poor Clares in Spokane, Washington or to your local animal shelter.