William Vernon "Bill" Dare

Born on October 1st, 1943, in Oak Park, IL, to Catherine and Alvin Dare. Bill married Ruth Lois Krause on August 24th of 1968, and they were blessed with four children – Joy, Paul, David, and Karen. Bill is survived by his wife, Ruth, his four children, his seven grandchildren, two sisters, and a brother. He was called home to meet his Heavenly Father on October 19th, 2024, at the age of 81 after a long fight against cancer.
Bill Dare grew up as the second oldest of five children. As a child, he played football with his brother, Bob, loved sledding, and was amazing at chess. He was a Boy Scout leader, had a paper route, and played baseball. One especially notable part of his childhood included the building a ham radio with his buddy, Paul, and he and his siblings broadcasted from the upper level of his home. Because this interfered with the neighbor's television, the FCC actually came to the home and shut the radio down.
William's love for technology and electronics was deep. He became an electrical engineer and through the years, Bill worked for Beltone in Chicago and General Electric in both Bloomington and Pewaukee. With his love of electronics, there wasn't a machine or vehicle he couldn't fix. There wasn't a math problem he couldn't solve. In fact, when he was taking his final engineering test, he said that he didn't even do all the problems because he knew the problems he submitted were correct and enough to pass. That's how smart he was.
As technology continued to emerge, Bill was at the forefront of dabbling with it. One Christmas, he bought his children an Atari. They had no idea what it was, but Bill knew. With the Atari in the home, he became the master of Frogger and Pac Man. Bill conquered all the levels.
Bill also loved sports. The Chicago Blackhawks, the Cubbies, and the Green Bay Packers all had a special place in his heart. In addition to sports, Bill loved music. Whether he was playing ragtime Scott Joplin hits on the piano, listening to one of his many records, tapes, or CDs (depending on the decade), encouraging his children's progression on their various instruments, or singing in the church choir, music was part of him.
Plain and simple, Bill loved good food. Whether it was his sister's 7-layer salad, a box of holiday pears, vegetables from his garden, butter pecan or spumoni ice cream, mincemeat cookies at Christmas, clam strips from Howard Johnson's, a Murf's chocolate shake, or just about anything from Emperor's Kitchen, Bill truly enjoyed a good meal.
When the holidays came around, relatives from all over were treated to his pumpkin pies, his pancakes, and his puns. His pumpkin pies were a true labor of love. Beginning with only his special home-grown pumpkins, Bill made the mash himself. He hand-rolled the crust. Partially ignoring the recipe, he always seasoned the mash so that the color and taste were just right. His pancakes were light and fluffy and full of flavor. His puns were subtle, clever, and made people smile and groan simultaneously.
Bill had his "classic Bill" moments and behaviors that will always be remembered. No one knows how he could drink a cup of coffee after microwaving it to a near boil. It was just never hot enough for his iron tongue. If an item that he wanted was out of stock, he would call every store within an hour radius to locate that item and somehow get a buy one get one deal and free shipping. No matter what style or shade of green shirt he was given, he would love it and pronounce it "snazzy." His children still don't know how he could ALWAYS win the game of Clue without ever using the tracking paper. That was just Bill.
While Bill had so many special qualities, the most special one was that he was a child of God. He was baptized and believed that Jesus Christ was his personal Lord and Savior. His faith was at the core of his marriage. He and Ruth lovingly raised their children in the Lutheran faith. Bill sang in the church choir, was an Elder at Elm Grove Lutheran Church, led his family in prayer every day at the kitchen table, brought them to church every Sunday, sent his children to Milwaukee Lutheran High School, and was a true example of a Christian.
Bill will be remembered for his deep love for family, strong faith in Jesus Christ, and his sense of humor. He will be in our hearts and our memories until we see him again in Heaven.