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William (Bill) Howard Suits passed away on Thursday, April 9, 2020, just 6 days before his wife of 34 years, Donna Jean (Brohman) Gould Suits, both having succumbed quickly to a coronavirus infection. They died peacefully, cared for by the nurses at the Meadow Lakes Community in East Windsor, NJ where they had joyfully resided since 2014.
Bill was born in Waupaca, Wisconsin on March 3, 1940 to George and Ethelyn (Olson) Suits. He was a standout guard for his high school, playing for the Waupaca Comet team that captured the Central Wisconsin 1957 crown.
Bill graduated from Waupaca High School in 1958 and proudly attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison on a football scholarship from 1958-1963. He spent six weeks the summer between his freshman and sophomore year in Quanico, Virginia working toward a marine corps reserve officers' commission as a lance corporal.
During his college years, Bill played left guard for his beloved Wisconsin Badgers. In 1960 during his sophomore year, the team went to the Rose Bowl giving Bill memories to last a lifetime. Wisconsin was favored by 6 1/2 points but was down 42-14 heading into the fourth quarter. The Badgers played furiously, scoring 23 points, only to lose to Washington 42-37. This was the first bowl game in college football history to pair the two top ranked teams in the nation, and appears frequently on lists of the "greatest bowl games of all times." Always athletic, Bill also played for the Rugby club from 1962-1965 and was the president in 1964. Bill remained an avid Wisconsin sports fan and could be found most Saturdays throughout the fall faithfully wearing red cheering with fellow Wisconsin alumni in Northern New Jersey.
Bill graduated from University of Wisconsin in 1963 with a degree in chemistry and remained on campus, managing the medical science lab from 1962-1963 and the bio-physics lab from 1963-1965. These positions helped fuel his lifelong passion for chemistry.
After Bill left the lab, he moved to Chicago and became a product specialist for Packard Instrument Company. He married Geraldine (Jerry) Sloan in 1969 and they had two children, Tim Suits and Joanna (Suits) Hubenthal. The family moved to Pittsburgh, PA in 1974 where Bill began his sales career with Varian Medical Systems. In 1976, Bill was promoted to a Chromatography Specialist and the family moved to Short Hills, New Jersey. Bill and Jerry divorced in 1982.
Bill married Donna Suits in July 1985. They began their marriage living in the Knollcrest community in Bedminster, NJ. Bill loved Donna's three children as his own, Wendy (Gould) Biggs (married to Ray), Paul Gould (married to Kathy Wurzbach Gould) and Brian Gould (married to Claire Hoeschler Gould).
In 2014 Bill and Donna moved to Meadow Lakes where he became an active member of the community, enjoying the beautiful scenery, the wonderful residents and staff, and his water aerobics classes. Bill was also an active participant in many of the resident run productions in the community.
Bill and Donna were most recently members of the Princeton United Methodist Church where he was commissioned as a Stephen Minister last fall and where he was an active participant in the choir. His passion for singing also led him to frequently participate in the annual Ocean Grove Choir Festival.
Bill was active in chemistry until his death and had recently begun presenting Science Cafes to educate fellow seniors. He was a member of both the National and the North Jersey American Chemical Societies and proudly served in many leadership positions including as chair of the NJACS in 2001. He was passionate about counseling peers on career and advancement opportunities and also about mentoring the next generation of chemists through his work with Project SEED which helps disadvantaged High School students garner research experience with lab professionals. Bill also worked on the board for AIDSfreeAFRICA to help pharmaceutical companies in Cameroon to produce and distribute generic drugs and AIDS medicine. In recognition of his ongoing exemplary volunteer service the NJACS has officially renamed their annual volunteer and pro bono service award in his honor.
Bill is survived by his five children and their spouses and his eleven grandchildren Stephanie Smith and Sierra Suits, Ashley, Lilith and Connor Hubenthal, Alicia and Daniel Biggs, Carley and Jamison Gould, Laura and Zachary Gould, his sister Valerie Nygaard of Wisconsin Rapids, two aunts Dona Gjertson and Lavonne Waller as well as niece Elizabeth Nygaard (Mike Sims) and nephew, Peter Nygaard (Sara).
Donations in Bill's memory can be made to the NJACS which will work to create a scholarship for chemistry bound high school students in his name. https://www.njacs.org/
Please designate for Bill Suits scholarship in the notes field.
A celebration of life will be held at Princeton United Methodist Church once travel restrictions are lifted and it is safe for family and friends to gather. It will be a joint celebration to honor both Donna and Bill for their love, lives and faith. Please provide your email address in the "SUBSCRIBE to UPDATES" button on the bottom right of this page so that we may contact you once the date and details are finalized.
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1940 - 2020 (80 år)
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