William Stanley Van Leuven

William (Bill) Stanley Van Leuven of Rome, Georgia passed away in his sleep at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, while surrounded by family, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at the age of 93. Married for 7 years to Gladys E. Van Leuven (deceased) and then married for 16 years to Alice G. Van Leuven (deceased), Bill is the father to Susan D. (Jeff) Van Leuven-Rush of Jupiter, FL, Mark W. (Wendi) Van Leuven of Rome, GA, and Gregg T. (Tara) Van Leuven of Mt. Pleasant, SC; grandfather to Matthieu (Mary) Rush of North Haledon, NJ, Justin (Katie) Rush of Charleston, SC, Brett (Ashley) Rush of Jensen Beach, FL; Will, Wes, and James Van Leuven of Rome, GA; and Alice, Amelia, and Emma Van Leuven of Mt. Pleasant, SC. Great-grandchildren include Olivia, Caleb, Tyler, and Nora Rush.

Bill was born on July 28, 1931, at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York to Orrin C. and Olive G. Van Leuven and grew up with his younger sister, Joan D. (deceased) and younger brother Bruce C. (Joyce) Van Leuven between Brooklyn, NY and Jersey City, NJ. He was active in sports, the Boy Scouts of America, and the local YMCA. Bill witnessed a lot of historic baseball during his youth, including one of Lou Gehrig's last games for the New York Yankees. He also attended Jackie Robinson's first game, on April 18, 1946, when he played for the Montreal Royals against the Jersey City Giants at Roosevelt Stadium.

Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and trained at Bainbridge, Maryland. He served as a Sonarman 2nd Class on the USS Kleinsmith during the Korean War. Between deployments, the movie 'The Frogmen', with Richard Widmark and Dana Andrews, was filmed on their ship with all the sailors serving as extras.

Bill moved back to New Jersey after he was honorably discharged and attended Panzer College (later Montclair State) in New Jersey, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Education. He then moved to metropolitan Washington, DC where he worked for Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) and eventually earned his M.Ed. Along with several of his colleagues, Bill pioneered the concept of outdoor education in the 1960s. By 1974, they built the Lathrop E. Smith Environmental Education Center allowing students from the inner city and elsewhere the opportunity to grow and learn outside of a traditional classroom setting.

After his wife, Alice, succumbed to cancer in 1983, Bill and his sons spent many weekends traveling throughout the eastern United States exhibiting at historical conventions, with a focus on Civil War and Revolutionary War history. Upon retirement in the late 1980s, he moved to Tombstone, Arizona where he purchased a majority stake in the historic Crystal Palace Saloon where Virgil Earp once had an upstairs office.

In 1992, Bill and his sons moved to Rome, Georgia. During the latter part of his retirement, he became active at First Presbyterian Church and local community organizations. He continued to attend historical conventions and later became one of the first season ticket holders at the newly minted 'Low A' minor league ballpark in Rome. His wealth of sports knowledge, along with his enthusiasm for baseball and the Rome Braves earned him the moniker 'The Pope of State Mutual Stadium'.

A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Rome, Georgia on Saturday, July 19, 2025. Family and friends will be received from 3:00 to 4:00 PM at the Fellowship Hall, followed by a service in the main sanctuary from 4:00 to 5:00 PM. Interment will follow several weeks later, at Norbeck Memorial Park in Olney, Maryland. Donations, in lieu of flowers, are welcome for a memorial tree and marker at the Lathrop E. Smith Environmental Education Center in Rockville, Maryland.