William Robert Proops

William (Bill) Robert Proops passed away on Wednesday, April 12 at his home at Richland Place in Nashville, TN. He was born in Brooklyn on December 5, 1929 to Everett Proops and Beatrice Proops (née Adler) where he lived until moving to Champaign-Urbana to complete his PhD from Columbia University in organic chemistry. While there, he met and married Edith Sue Boston before moving to Charleston, WV after accepting a job with Union Carbide once he completed his degree and where they raised four children (Michael, Douglas, Russell, and Carol).

After some 17 years at Union Carbide, he moved to Delaware to work for Witco Chemical Company where he met and married Barbara Cowell (née Allen). With Barbara’s four children (Kathy, Kristi, Kimberly, and Karla) they created a family of eight children. He continued to work for Witco as a Vice President until his retirement. He and Barbara then spent their time in both Edmonds, WA and Port Charlotte, FL. He moved to Nashville, TN in 2010 where they found a welcoming community at Richland Place. Barbara passed away in 2016.

Bill enjoyed playing tennis; however, his biggest love was watching movies. His biggest gift was his ability to connect to people of all backgrounds. He is survived by his 8 children, 15 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life ceremony will be held at Richland Place for friends and family on Saturday, April 29 at 4 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to The Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN or The Nature Conservancy in Washington State.