William W. "Bill" Mendenhall Jr.

I was one of the many who benefitted from instruction from Bill. My condolences go out to his family.

To my shame I just discovered Mr. Mendenhall passed on to survey the boundaries of Heaven. I took all his classes and he graded my PLS exam and told me I passed! There was nobody like Mr. Mendenhall. I have had classes where the instructor said the Prof could not teach the class and they had to. Not with Mr. Mendenhall. He loved teaching. He had practical experience and was completely knowledgeable in all aspects of Alaska surveying. My life was deeply impacted by this giant of a man. ...

Bill was my Academic Advisor from 1978-1985 while attending the School of Civil Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks and taught a class on Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Bill was casual, welcoming, always available to his students, advised me to take Strength of Materials as part of my curriculum. I remember him recommending me into membership in Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society (I became a life member); Bill was kind, thoughtful, encouraging and a real delight to have him...

Bill was my Academic Advisor from 1977 - 1985 and often discussed photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, a precursor to ArcInfo GIS Technology; had it not been for Bill, I would not have had my BSCE in 1985. Bill was instrumental in selecting all my classes and I was one of his brightest students. Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Summa Cum Laude 4.2GPA. Thank you Bill. Ricky Johansen, Jr. (now retired)

Bill ... and his wife ... were very good friends, first met in 1963. A few years later his family of 5 and our Van Veldhuizen family of five ... plus many others ... ran the Gold Discovery Race from Pedro monument into the visitor Center log cabin down town Fairbanks. Both of our families earned a trophy for largest families coming in first and second ... or maybe we tied? My son Jay has this trophy now I think???? Where is Mendenhall trophy?? I and the Fairbanks community will miss Bill...

Thank you to all those who have shared their memories of my grandfather, Bill Mendenhall. He was a real-life renaissance man, talented in so many disciplines, and I always enjoyed his visits to our home in Anchorage and our visits to his house in Fairbanks. As a young child, I was fascinated by their house and (more specifically) basement filled with old books, erector sets from the 1950's, his surplus Army gear, and the Cold War era bomb shelter they had constructed. Sometimes he would...

I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today without Prof. Mendenhall's encouragement. He was one of my references to apply to grad school here in California. As it's said, the rest is history.

I won't ever forget surveying in the snow for one of his classes. He was so passionate about what he did. So many fond memories...

A great engineering professor and a wonderful individual. I am just one of his many, many admiring old students. Condolences to the family.

In my 6 years of post secondary education Bill Mendenhall was one of the best instructors I encountered.
A favorite memory is from I believe 1972, shortly after the introduction of the HP35, one of the first truly useful handheld electronic calculators. Bill was walking down a Duckering Building hallway, excitedly stopping everyone he knew, to show off his new HP. It was indeed a game changer worthy of his enthusiasm, as anyone having spent most of their learning and professional...