William J. Hayes III

Bill entered eternal life on January 10, 2020, at the age of 79. He was the first-born son of William James Hayes Jr. and Monica Rose Schumaker. Bill’s birth exempted William Jr. from military service in World War II, so William Jr. joined the war effort, working for A.O. Smith manufacturing propellers and founded what would eventually become Visual Image Photography in Cedarburg, WI. Six siblings followed Bill in the suburb of Shorewood, WI: the late Patrick J. (the late Peggy) Hayes; Timothy (Sharon) Hayes of Westminster, CA; Thomas (Mary Kay) Hayes of Mequon, WI; Monica (John) Anderson of Bloomfield, NJ; Kathleen Hayes of New York, NY; and the late Therese/Sat Dharam (Har Hari) Khalsa. Bill is survived by his son, Patrick S. (Samara) Hayes, from his marriage with Carol, and was a proud grandfather to his grandson.

Bill graduated MUHS in 1958 with letters in swimming. He earned his Marquette University baccalaureate in Journalism/Advertising in ‘62, plus an NROTC Commission as 2nd Lt., United States Marine Corps. At MU, he served on multiple student publications and won the Boehm poetry award and an art award. Through his advertising fraternity, ADS, in which he was Pledge Master, he was Secretary of the Intra-Fraternity Council. He also served on the MU NROTC Porthole yearbook staff and sang in the Anchor & Chain Society glee club.

After MU, Bill served four years as Marine Platoon Commander, Company Executive Officer, Company Commander, and 2nd Marine Division Information Officer. He earned the National Defense Service and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals and letters of commendation. After Officers Basic School in Quantico, VA, his tour of duty at Camp Lejeune, NC began with guarding the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He spent six months with the Fleet Marine Force in the Mediterranean, aboard the U.S.S. Oglethorpe, AKA-100. Bill spent a month off Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, aboard the U.S.S. Okinawa, LPH-3, during a 1965 rebel uprising. Bill was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps as Captain in ‘66.

Post service, Bill joined the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. of Milwaukee, then the #2 brewer nationally. As Copywriter and Editor of three company magazines, he also managed the Corporate Incentive Program for overseas award trips. Bill helped propel the Schlitz Toastmasters club to #1 among 7,000 clubs worldwide, 1969-72. His club bulletin earned the same distinction. He earned both the Able and Distinguished Toastmaster awards, won the “Dan Poppy” Area Governor Award, served as Governor (District 35), and published the district bulletin. Toastmasters led to a board seat with the Milwaukee United Fund, in charge of the UF speakers’ bureau. He was also Vice Chairman, Milwaukee Lakefront Arts Festival.

While on a 1966 magazine reporting trip to San Francisco, Bill was smitten by Carol, a Wisconsin native, newly returned from serving as a civilian employee of the U.S. Army in Germany. They married in ‘67. Carol taught first grade until their son Patrick was born in ‘74.

Bill rose quickly from a Schlitz District Sales Manager to Sales Training & Recruiting Manager, and then Brand Marketing Manager. As Pacific Division Manager (1977-80), Bill won two of the coveted award trips he had previously managed. In late ‘80, he became Corporate Director, National Retail Sales.

Stroh Brewery of Detroit acquired Schlitz in 1982, where Bill continued to serve as Corporate Director, National Retail Sales through ‘90. He directed trade advertising and coordinated with the top executives of all the major U.S. retail chains. He created the Techniques of Alcohol Management (TAM) crime prevention training program, adopted by every leading national retailer association, to prevent illegal alcohol sales.

Bill’s trade show exhibits were consistently polled “most memorable” by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and National Restaurant Association (NRA) conventions, each with over a thousand exhibitors. He served on the boards of eleven top retail trade associations, becoming a frequent event speaker – often partnering with his convention showstopper, “Strohbot the Robot,” operated by Robert Doornick, in a crowd-pleasing interactive comedy routine.

In the midst of Stroh’s collapse, Bill returned to his journalism roots in 1990, becoming Senior Account Executive at Grocery Marketing Magazine (Chicago). He was recruited in ‘92 by the Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) as Associate Publisher/Editor in Chief of IGA’s international magazine, moving to Winnetka, IL in ‘93. Managing editorial and advertising functions entailed global travel. Ad sales quadrupled by ‘98, while annual magazine pages nearly tripled as IGA grew its 3,000 store base to over 4,400 as it spread from two countries to forty-four.

Bill’s son, Patrick, chose Marquette University as his college. That led Bill to become co-chair, with then wife Carol, of the MU Parents Association (1994-96). Patrick graduated Marquette in ‘96, with degrees in theater and broadcasting. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son, working as a screenwriter.

Carol and Bill went separate ways in 2001 and Bill retired from IGA in ‘04. Since then, he lived on the shores of Lake Nagawicka, thirty miles west of Milwaukee. He enjoyed biking, boating, cross-country skiing, remodeling, stained glass art, driving his rally-ready ‘73 Triumph GT6, and was an avid bookworm and cinephile, as well as a lifelong Green Bay Packers and Marquette Golden Eagles fan. He recently finished writing the historical novel, “Tapestry of Evil”, dissecting the three great battles in the autumn of 1066 that led to centuries of Norman and Gallic rule of England. Until his death, he served as the Secretary of his condominium association, and Vice President of the Marquette University NROTC Alumni and Friends Association awards program.

Due to health concerns regarding the Coronavirus, services that were scheduled at St. Robert’s Catholic Church have been postponed indefinitely. Memorials in Bill’s name may be made to the Semper Fi Fund: https://semperfifund.org/donate/ways-to-donate/