As his daughter, Heather Knotts, thoughtfully wrote, Bill, surrounded by family, died peacefully Nov. 16, 2013, in Scottsdale, Ariz., from complications related to ALS. He was 82.
Coming from Evanston (Ill.) High School where he had worked with the local YMCA, Bill was with us for only two years before transferring to Northwestern to finish his education. At Princeton, he roomed with Sam Ertel, Howard Harvey, Bob Ritchie, and Bill Webster. He joined Whig-Clio, the Republican Club, and was a YMCA group leader.
In between executive positions with Chicago’s Continental Illinois National Bank, Bill spent two years in the Army. He retired from the bank in 1993 as senior vice president.
He and his wife, Beth, moved to Scottsdale in 1997 and spent summers in Cuchara, Colo., which Heather says was a favorite place for tennis and the gathering of loved ones. Bill leaves behind Beth; Heather, who graduated from Northwestern in 1986; daughter Cindy, who was Class of ’91 at Arizona State; son George W. VI, who finished at Northwestern in 1991; and five grandchildren. Bill had a host of friends and was a credit to his community wherever he was.