William R. Backs

Beloved husband of 63 years to the late Nancy Backs (nee Bissmeyer). Loving father to David (Donna), Steven (Dana) and the late Andrew (aka The Voice of Elder). Devoted grandfather to Joey (Agustina Caprino), Alex (Kelsey Loch), Sean, Ted, and Lucy. Also survived by his sister Kathy Castellini and sisters-in-law Chris Bissmeyer, Rose Bissmeyer, and Bridget Backs. Also survived by many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. Preceded in death by his parents Joe and Catherine (nee Ruwan), father-in-law Louis Bissmeyer and mother-in-law Lucy Bissmeyer (nee Hug), brothers Thomas and John “Jack” and brothers-in-law Jimmy Bissmeyer, Thomas Bissmeyer, Daniel Bissmeyer and “Bengal Bill” Castellini.

“Billy Bob” Backs was known for his ability to see the humor in all situations (even at his own expense), the ability to talk to anyone about anything (even if he knew nothing about the subject), and his love of playing and watching sports. He is likely the only athlete in history to complete an unassisted triple play from the outfield and once hit two grand slams in one inning. Those and countless other stories were enjoyed often and they might have even been true. He coached baseball at Our Lady of Victory in Delhi, where his enthusiasm for hands on coaching led to an unfortunate ankle fracture while demonstrating how to slide into second base. Undaunted, Bill later became very involved in the Delshire Men’s Association where he founded and coached in their soccer program, mostly learning the game as he went (“I would have been a great goalkeeper if we had this sport when I was young…”)

Graduating from Elder High School in 1955, he attended Xavier University. After one year at XU, he enlisted in the US Army and was assigned to the Army Security Agency where HE LEARNED TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS SO IT SEEMED LIKE HE WAS YELLING AT YOU. He spent two and a half years serving in Japan at Brady Air Force Base. Bill made life-long friends in the Army (notably, Ben Phillips and Mel Barth) whom he stayed in touch with to the end. He was proud of his service and wore his “Army ASA Veteran” baseball cap frequently, also enjoying its benefit as a conversation starter with strangers.

After the Army he convinced Nancy to marry him and went to work at GMAC, repossessing cars, sometimes in the dead of night. That led to a successful career in the leasing and finance business at Ford Motor Credit, GE Credit and finally Cincinnati Financial where he retired in 1999 as a Senior Vice President. Bill and Nancy enjoyed a long retirement of golf, travel and visiting their grandchildren, wherever they were across the country. They also spent many happy winters with all the other West-Side retirees in Pawleys Island, SC, where he made new acquaintances and friends out of just about anyone willing to give him five minutes of their time. Bill was a talker to say the least and if we ever lost track of him we just needed to listen and surely we'd hear his voice. And Friday dinners at the Werk Haus will never be the same without him stopping at almost every table on the way out to chat up other diners.

We will miss but never forget “Grandpa Bill” and his deep generosity, his sense of obligation to his family, his gregariousness and affability, his love of laughter and his many stories and legends, both the true, and the possibly true.

Visitation will be Wednesday, February 5th at the Vitt, Stermer & Anderson Funeral Home 4619 Delhi Rd. from 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM. Funeral Mass will follow at 10 AM at St. Dominic Church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Andy Backs Memorial Band Assistance Fund at Elder High School. “Please email reiringtw@elderhs.net for details.”