William D. "Bill" Schoonover III

1951 - 2022

William D. 'Bill' Schoonover III

Sioux City

William D. "Bill" Schoonover III, 70, of Sioux City passed away on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., following a yearlong battle with lymphoma.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday at Morningside Lutheran Church, 700 South Martha Street, Sioux City. A private family burial will follow the service. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel, 6200 Morningside Avenue, Sioux City. Online condolences may be made to www.meyerbroschapels.com.

Bill was born on April 9, 1951, in Rawlins, Wyo., to William D. Jr. and M. Elizabeth (Hurley) Schoonover and grew up in Denver, Colo., attending St. Francis de Sales Catholic School before moving to Kansas City, Mo., for his high school years. He loved the outdoors and was very athletic, playing many sports when he was young. He attended Rockhurst High School where he was a football star, ran track, and was on the summer swim and soccer teams. After graduating in 1969 he went on to attend the University of Iowa and was a defensive back on the Hawkeyes football team. Go Hawks! He received his BS in Civil Engineering at Iowa in 1973.

After graduation he worked a short time in Des Moines, Iowa, as an engineer for the City of Des Moines and the Iowa Concrete Paving Association before settling in Sioux City in 1978. He worked at Irving F. Jensen Co., which later became Knife River, where he was a leader for 40 years before retiring in 2018. After retirement, he enjoyed volunteering at the local hospital, UnityPoint Health – St. Luke's, where he was a greeter at the front desk and a baby cuddler in the NICU where he was told he had a special grandpa touch and was called the "baby whisperer." It was no surprise to his family as he was the world's best Granddad!

Bill was the biggest Hawkeye fan and loved all things Iowa, especially football! He was an avid sports fan and also rooted for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals as well as his grandchildren's sports teams. He was a very proud Granddad! He and Karyl enjoyed spending time with family and friends and in recent years that included time at their summer home on Lake Okoboji where they loved boating, fishing, and watching their grandkids enjoy the Maui Mat and have fun at Arnold's Park.

Bill will be deeply missed by his family.

He is survived by his wife Karyl (Riordan) Schoonover, his loving partner of 24 years; children, Emily (Mike) Monroe of Lisle, Ill., Kate (Gabriel) Alcantara of Apex, N.C., Dan Schoonover of San Francisco, Calif., Kim Schoonover (Kelly Ward) of Delray Beach, Fla., David (Tara) Schoonover of Baton Rouge, La., and Kayla Vlahoulis (Andy Burger) of Sioux City; sister Sue (Mike) Phenix of Lawrence, Kan.; brother Bob (Lisa) Schoonover of Katy, Texas; mother-in-law Beverly Riordan of Pierson, Iowa; brothers-in-law Doug (Lynne) Riordan of Des Moines, and David (Kim) Riordan of Pierson; and grandchildren Tyler and Logan Monroe, Max and Evan Alcantara and Addilyn and Axel Burger.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Elizabeth; and his father-in-law, Don Riordan.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in Bill's name can be made to Morningside Lutheran Church or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at www.lls.org.