William Legate Sr.

William Legate led a life saturated with honesty, integrity and respect. He was many things in his life – a hard worker, an innovator, a devoted husband, father and grandfather, a loyal friend and faithful Christian. William learned early on in life that material possession matter little and that family comes first. He was caring and sensitive, and a good listener who uplifted those who came to him with words of encouragement. All those who met William loved him, and those who already loved him just grew to love him even more.

The Great Depression dominated American life in the 1930s. By the end of the decade, however, World War II would revive the economy and bring American’s closer together. It was a challenging time, but Skylar and Mae (Atkins) Legate of Granite City, Illinois maintained their positive spirits by focusing on a new blessing in their lives, the birth of their son, William, on June 28, 1936. William rounded out the Legate family with seven children and grew up under the protective eye of his older siblings. Sadly, his father died at the age of 39 from Tuberculosis (William was only 4), leaving his mother alone to care for their children. In order to help support his family, William left school after the ninth grade. His first job was at the bowling alley, setting up pins, and during the summer he also worked in the Muck fields, growing vegetables.

At the age of 17, William began what would become a long, respectable career in the shoe industry. It all started in the Pattern Department at the International Shoe Company in St. Louis, where he worked as a pattern cutter. But William not only started his career here; he also found the love of his life working in the Shoe Art Department, and her name was Bonnie Tesson. Over a few years of courtship, the two fell in love and were happily married in August 1954, in St. Louis.

As the newlyweds settled into married life together, they also continued to work at the shoe factory. It wasn’t long before William and Bonnie started a family of their own with the birth of their daughter, Debra, followed by their son, William Jr. The family of four soon packed up and moved across the Missouri River to Granite City, where William found work at various shoe companies. His big break came at the age of 26, when he became the Department Manager of Shoe Design and Manufacturing at Hamilton Shoe Company. William and Bonnie also celebrated the birth of their youngest child, daughter Renee, who was born while they lived in Granite City.

In 1971, William took a job with Wolverine World Wide, a shoe manufacturing company in Rockford, Michigan, which led the family to move to the north side of Grand Rapids, on Sawkaw N.E. in the Northview area. After some time, the family moved to another home on Timberview N.E. William put down roots at Wolverine and worked hard at a job he loved. This position enabled him to travel the world, promoting shoe design, sales and manufacturing. Throughout his career, William consistently showed his dedication to people, not just through the profession he chose, but the life he chose to lead. He always held himself up to a high standard, which earned him great respect among his colleagues and in his community.

Despite the busyness of his career, it was apparent that William’s most important job in life was taking care of his wife and children. As a father, he was always attentive and supportive of his kids and their activities, including games, plays and concerts. When his son was involved with Little League, William was there to coach the team. As a loyal St. Louis Cardinal fan, he enjoyed taking his kids to baseball games whenever possible. Over the years, he had acquired several autographed Cardinal player cards, which he valued highly. When baseball season was done, William tuned into hockey games, particularly of the St. Louis Blues. But William didn’t just watch sports; he enjoyed bowling and golfing, though his favorite pastime was fishing. This was a passion that he and his son enjoyed together. In fact, William would go to Montana where his son lived, and they would fish all over Montana and neighboring Wyoming, and also participated in various fishing tournaments at times.

William retired from Wolverine when he was 62, and began filling his retirement years pursing his hobbies and spending more time with his family. He and Bonnie traveled quite a bit visiting their children and grandchildren. As proud grandparents, they loved to spend time with their grandkids, attending their many school activities and sport events. For William, family was the greatest source of happiness in his life. He didn’t merely provide for his family in financial terms – he was always there for them in every capacity he could be. But that went for his siblings as well; they could confide in him and knew he would be there for them. William was definitely not someone consumed by material gains in life, but rather he always focused on what was most important to him: the people he loved.

As a couple, William and Bonnie enjoyed trips to Hawaii, Las Vegas, Branson, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee, among others. They were also member of the Casino Club, where William volunteered with the fish fries and other activities. Being a senior and longtime member, he had earned the Golden Member designation through the Club. Growing up, William’s mother was a member of the Nazarene church, which is where he received his foundation in Christ and his love for gospel music. Sunday mornings he could usually be found watching a church service on TV or listening to some of his gospel music collection, featuring various artists. Yet, William loved the twang of country and western music too.

About two years ago, William began showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease, but stayed active for a long time. His daughter, Renee, came daily to take care of him and took him out as much as possible. She even took him on a trip to St. Louis to visit friends and relatives again. Somehow, during the course of his illness, William acquired the nickname “Spanky” and even answered to it. A month ago, he became sick and was hospitalized for a short time before going home. He died on Friday, December 14, 2007, at the age of 71.

William Legate was a man deeply committed to his family. His deeds and actions were an inspiration to those that knew and loved him. He will be dearly missed.

William was preceded in death by his great granddaughter, Leana Harroun, his parents, Mae and Skylar Legate, his brothers, Maxwell Legate, Fred King, and his sisters, Gladys Campbell and Charlene Cox. Surviving is his wife of 53 years, Bonnie Legate; his children: Debra and Douglas Nozal, William and Diane Legate Jr., Renee and James Harroun; his grandchildren: Jody and Mario Castillo, Janell Kuzdzal, Michael and Becky Harroun, Lindsey and Eric Osterhaven, Adam Harroun, Megan and Clinton Gibson, Jamie Harroun, Kelsey Legate; his great grandchildren: Anthony, Ethan, Bryson, Logan, James; his brother, sisters and their spouses: Virgil and June Legate, Ruth Crow, Donna and Dwayne Cardin; and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 17, at 1 p.m. at the Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, Van Strien – Creston Chapel, 1833 Plainfield N.E., Grand Rapids. Interment will be in Rockford Cemetery. For those who wish, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. Mr. Legate reposes at the funeral home where relatives and friends may meet his family on Sunday, December 16, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Please visit William’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory with his family or sign his online guest book.