William Hector Manzer

William Hector Manzer, William H. Manzer died peacefully on May 3rd, 2025, at the age of 84 in the loving presence of his wife and son.

Bill was born in a farmhouse in rural South Dakota on December 30th, 1940 to Lyle and Bernice Manzer. He was the second of nine children.

Bill's life was devoted to education. After his graduation from Colome High School in 1959, he learned of a shortage of country school teachers and, after getting a certification, he began his teaching career in a one-room school in Tripp county with 11 students of grades 1-8. Following that year, he attended Black Hills State in Spearfish, SD, where he graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics and a minor in Science.

After graduation, he continued teaching when he joined the Peace Corps and taught mathematics and science in Sanniquellie, Liberia for two years. He brought countless stories back from his time there - from whacking a tarantula with a shovel, to his trip across East Africa, to suffering from malaria.

Upon returning to the U.S., Bill continued to both teach and pursue his own education. In 1969, he received is M.S. from the University of South Dakota. That same year he was hired to teach at Western Wyoming Community College, in Rock Springs, WY. Later, he always said that when he arrived in Rock Springs for the first time he couldn't believe how desolate it looked. But he told himself that he needed the job and he'd stay for one year. He stayed for thirty-five. While teaching at WWCC, he also attended the University of Northern Colorado, where he met and married Jeanne and earned his Doctorate in Mathematics. The couple's son, Michael, was born not long after.

At the end of his career, Bill also spent time as a visiting professor at Cornell University and Norwich College for a year each, but finally retired to Sequim, WA, where he lived until his death.

He is survived by his wife Jeanne, his son Michael, daughter-in-law Edina and his grandson Dominik, as well as seven brothers and sisters, and many nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and -nephews. He was proceeded in death by his older brother Jimmy and his parents.

His funeral was held at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Sequim, WA on May 29th at 11 A.M. He will be buried in his hometown of Colome, with a graveside ceremony scheduled on June 19th at 4:30 PM in the Colome cemetery.