William Henry Riess, Jr., 29 Apr 1943 - 10 Jun 2022

RIESS, WYNN, LUNDBERG, HYDE, HALL, BEHN, BOWERS

Posted By: Sarah Witte (email)
Date: 6/29/2022 at 14:54:02

William Henry Riess, Jr., 79, passed away on Friday, June 10, 2022. A memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 27, 2022 in the chapel at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, with a luncheon following the service. A private burial for Bill and Bev will take place at Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines.

William “Bill” was born April 29, 1943 in North English, Iowa to William and Frances Riess. Growing up, he spent a lot of time working on the family farm alongside his sisters, Sandra and Ramona. However busy on the farm, he made time for football and music at English Valleys High School. He had great memories of being a lineman on the field and then a singer in the choir. Bill attended the State College of Iowa (what eventually became the University of Northern Iowa) and thus his panther pride was born. He continued his education at Iowa State University and earned his PhD in education. Bill was first a teacher, then a principal, and rounded out his career in educational sales. He spent the majority of his career traveling the country selling textbooks and educational software to many different school districts.

He married the love of his life, Beverly Wynn in 1978 and they lived in Des Moines upon marrying. They then moved to Boston (West Concord) where he honed his love for seafood and became a Celtics fan. They moved back to Iowa in 1991 and enjoyed their time re-connecting with old friends and making great new friends. Bill loved his winters at Trilogy in Arizona and his summers at Ten Mile Lake in Minnesota. His true joy was his time with his family and friends.

He is survived by his daughter, Jennifer (Tim) Lundberg; grandchildren, Luke and Alexandra; and his sisters, Sandra (Dexter) Hyde and family, Ramona (John) Hall and family and sister-in-law, Marlene Behn and family.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Beverly; parents; brothers-in law, Parke Behn and Bud Bowers; sister-in-law, Colleen Bowers; and nephew Brock Behn.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the University of Northern Iowa Foundation or to Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines.

Published in The Current on Jun 29, 2022.