William P. Scanlon

1925 - 2020

William P. Scanlon

RAPID CITY | William Patrick "Bill" Scanlon, 95, passed away on 12 December 2020.

He was born to Patrick Phillip and Olga Isoline (Boog) Scanlon on 07 February 1925 in Bassein, Burma (now Myanmar). He had an older brother, Dennis Patrick, and a younger brother, Douglas (who died at age two). His mother and father divorced before he was five years old. He attended a Jesuit boarding school in Rangoon, Myanmar, until he was around 12 years old. His love of numbers and math started at this school, and he developed the talent of mentally summing long lists of numbers and solving algebraic equations - no paper, pencil, or calculator required. After 1938, civil unrest due to the overthrow of English rule and the Japanese invasion of Myanmar during World War II disrupted his education. His immediate family, including his brother, his mother, and many more of his extended family, emigrated from Bassein, Myanmar in 1948 and moved to London, England.

Bill lived in London for seven years, earning his certification in accounting, but eventually decided to emigrate again, this time to the United States. Between 1957 and 1961, he married and divorced. Bill moved to Denver, Colorado around 1960. There he met Ruth Ann Nolan (the love of his life), a coworker who originally was from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and they married on 20 October 1962. Bill and Ruth had four children: Patricia Lee, Kathleen Ann, Dennis Phillip and William John (who are twins).

The family moved to Rapid City, South Dakota on 07 June 1972, where Bill obtained an accounting position at Northwestern Engineering. Bill and Ruth lived in Rapid City the rest of their lives. In 1973, he became the CEO of the South Dakota Cement Plant, a position he held for nine years. He ended his career at Summit, Inc., beginning in 1982 until he retired in 2016 at the age of 91.

Bill loved golfing in the Black Hills and was a fixture at both Meadowbrook Golf Course and the Executive Golf Course until 2018. He had a wide span of friends and acquaintances: coworkers and peers in the construction industry, the folks who took his daily breakfast order at the Millstone Family Restaurant, his fellow Catholics at Blessed Sacrament Church, Rotarians, his sons' Boy Scout Troop leaders with whom he volunteered in the 1970s and '80s, and the barbershop quartet with which he briefly sang baritone in the 1980s.

Traveling was one of Bill's passions - besides traveling extensively within the United States, he and Ruth traveled internationally to Canada, England and Myanmar several times, and also visited Australia. And he didn't only reside in the Black Hills, he adored the area for its natural beauty. Day trips to area lakes and through the Hills with his daughter Kathi gave him great joy in the past few years.

Bill was predeceased by his parents, his brothers, and his wife, Ruth (27 December 2016). He is survived by his four children: Pat Kline in Colorado, Kathi Hawley (Mark Antrim) in Wyoming, Dennis (Maureen) Scanlon in Arizona, and Will (Betty) Scanlon in Illinois; nine grandchildren, Amanda, Kellan, Ty, Zachary, Paul, Nathan, Terry, Rebecca, and Kelly (from oldest to youngest); a great-grandson, Colt (on the way this month); numerous nephews and nieces; and a multitude of friends.

A private funeral mass will be held at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.

If you would care to share a memory or funny story about Bill, we would love to hear it. Please email it to Pat Kline at aquamom63@gmail.com. She will compile them and share them with her siblings.