William A. “Mac” McPhetres, 1st Sgt USMC (Ret.), 90, of Surprise, Arizona, passed away on Saturday, November 26, 2022. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, sons James and Thomas, daughter Jennifer, grandchildren Sean, William, Madison, Nathan (Dalila) and Marcus, 7 great-grandchildren, and sisters Joan Bigelow and Jean (Tom) Long and many nieces and nephews. Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Lois McPhetres.
Bill was born on May 1, 1932 in Bayport, Minnesota. His family moved to Dayton, Ohio where he graduated from Wilbur Wright High School in 1951. After high school, Bill was the ultimate Patriot, he turned down a football college scholarship to join the United States Marine Corps. Bill served two tours in the Korean War. Upon his return he met Elizabeth, also a Marine, in 1954 and they were happily married for 68 years. Bill continued to serve in the USMC Reserves after his honorable discharge until he retired in 1991.
After the Marine Corps, Bill went on to work at NCR and for the Montgomery County (OH) Sheriff's Office in Dayton, Ohio before going to work for Ohio Bell. In 1969 the family moved to Dublin and Londonderry, NH where he continued to work as a Linesman for New England Bell. In 1978 they returned to Kettering, Ohio where he continued to work for Ohio Bell until his retirement. Bill also loved sports, he played softball for many years, enjoyed golfing, and he shared his passion through coaching youth football.
Bill and Betty enjoyed retirement by traveling across the U.S. in their RV, serving as camp hosts and capturing many memories over the years. They often took their grandsons on summer excursions in the RV. It was not uncommon for him, wherever they traveled, to come across someone he knew from the Marine Corps, phone company or high school.
In 1997, they moved to Surprise, AZ and continued to travel in their RV visiting family and friends from coast to coast. In 2002 Bill became the Captain of the Surprise Sundancer volunteer organization, overseeing the Ticket Takers at the Surprise Stadium during MLB Spring Training. He had a love for people and baseball which made this a perfect match. He retired from volunteering after 11 seasons.
Services will be held at a later date at Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.
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