William D. VanIngen III

1953 - 2024

William D. van Ingen III

March 29, 1953 - July 5, 2024

William "Bill" van Ingen III, 71, of Westerly, R.I., passed away at his home on Friday. He was the loving husband of Bonnie J. Bross van Ingen, and loving father to William "Dirk" van Ingen IV and Nicholette L. van Ingen. He was the son of the late William D. van Ingen Jr. and Charlotte Leora (Colladay) van Ingen. He is survived by his brothers, Sky van Ingen and Jon van Ingen; his sister, Lori van Ingen Daukas, and their spouses; children; and grandchildren, as well as sister-in-law, Gail (Bross) Torresquintero, and her husband.

Bill was born in Abington, PA. and grew up on the family farm, in Warwick township, PA. It was there he was introduced to outdoor life. He drove anything with a steering wheel and throttle, and enjoyed hunting pheasant and deer, horseback riding, and fishing in the "crick". He was an active Boy Scout and avid skier.

Bill graduated from Central Bucks High School East, in 1971, where he was on the soccer and rifle teams lettering in both. His budding artistic pursuits included being a member of the high school band and playing Sir Harry in Once Upon A Mattress. He also attended Indiana university of PA.

In 1983, Bill visited his sister Lori at the Falmouth Playhouse on Cape Cod. While there, he became involved in theatrical lighting and sound, which grew into a successful career, spanning 40 years. In 1983, his career took him back to Philadelphia, where he worked on the stage crew for Live Aid. He then went to Atlantic City, where he worked in local IATSE 917, which led to full time positions at the Showboat Casino and Trump Taj Mahal Casino. While in Atlantic City, Bill met his wife Bonnie, in 1986. They married in 1988, and recently celebrated their 36 anniversary. His biggest accomplishment was his family. With his family growing, he relocated to Rhode Island to work at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, in Connecticut. While there, he started as a lighting manager and worked his way up to Director of Entertainment. He then moved onto a production company, High Output, and finally IATSE local 52, where he worked on movies and television until he retired in 2018. Throughout his career, his work was respected and recognized by his colleagues and entertainers whose signed thank you photos, which adorn his music studio walls.

Some of his local work in CT and RI Included; Providence Waterfire, summer beach concerts in Misquamicut, RI, Sailfest in New London, CT and Schemitzen, the annual Feast of Green Corn and dance on Mashantucket Pequot tribal land. He was honored to work with Ava Franchi for a number of years on the Sergio Franchi Memorial Concerts, which showcased rising young singers.

Bill's passion was music, starting with piano at age 12, then adding the trumpet a year later. But his real passion was the guitar, which he played up to and on the day he died. He also enjoyed golf and football. He was a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan. Every Sunday he would watch them, with his family, on TV. His other loves were the animals that graced our home, past and present.

The bands he played with were, The Rambling Slug Brothers, Captain Crisis, The Shovel Heads, Recliner's, Rock Bottom, and The Werkers. Bill and his friends used to have huge parties at the Cabin on the banks of the little Neshaminy Creek that his grandmother had built out of a Sears and Roebuck kit, in the early 1900s. He lived there for a period of time, as did all the van Ingen boys.

A celebration of life will be held for Bill in early August. Please contact the family for more information.