William “Bill” Maki, age 90, passed away peacefully at home the evening of November 22, 2020. His last hours were spent lifted up by the love of his wife of 60 years, his three children and their spouses, his eight grandchildren, and his three great-grandchildren. The Holy Spirit filled the room where he lay, and he joyfully and peacefully received his last Communion and awaited the meeting with his Lord which occurred without fanfare at 7:50 pm.
Bill was born to Finnish immigrants, Vaino and Aili Maki, in Negaunee, MI on July 24, 1930. Premature at seven months’ gestation, it was feared that he would not survive his first day, and he was hurriedly baptized on that same day. Growing up in the iron mining town of Negaunee, Bill loved watching the steam engines roll through town, hobnobbing with the hobos who hung out near the tracks, watching nickel-movies at the nearby Vista theater with his best friend Don, and hiking in the hills above town. Coming of age in the era of the Depression and World War Two, Bill learned to love his country with the visceral love shared by so many of his Great Generation. When war came in Korea, Bill proudly volunteered to serve in the U.S. Navy, as an Electronics Technician spending his 4 years as a part of the Beachmasters of the Atlantic Fleet. Following his Navy hitch, Bill used his G.I. bill to finish his education in Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Graduating in 1958, he proceeded to launch a career that literally spanned the globe. Never wanting to stagnate in one position or one place- Bill worked for the US Corps of Engineers; the City of Marquette, MI; Sverdup and Parcell bridge consultants in St. Louis; and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in Milwaukee, WI. In 1959, he was introduced by sister Irma to the love of his life, Evangelyn “Vandy” Lundeen. Married on June 25, 1960, the pair had their first son Craig and daughter Claire while residing in Marquette; and their second son Wayne while in St Louis. In March 1967, Bill and Vandy (whom friends labeled “nuts with guts”) embarked on the adventure of their lives traveling to Vientiane, Laos in Southeast Asia where Bill worked for the Agency for International Development. Bill was always intensely proud of the work “Uncle Sam” did for the Laotian people- building schools and roads and simple waterworks systems. In 1970, the family moved to Abidjan, Ivory Coast in West Africa where Bill was involved in regional development of transportation, taking trips to Niger, Cameroon, Congo, and many other places to check on bridge projects. In 1970, Bill and Vandy brought their brood home to the Good Ol’ USA, where Bill spent a year working in Washington, DC. Yearning to be closer to extended family and the “Camp” (summer cabin) in Michigan—he took a job in 1972 with the Department of the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Waukegan, IL and bought the home in Highland Park, IL where the three children would finish their growing up years. Finally, Bill rounded out his career with 15 years at the Federal Aviation Administration in Des Plains, IL where he designed control towers and other facilities for many of the nation’s regional airports. Bill was extremely proud and satisfied with his career as an engineer, proud of his status as a member of Tau Beta PI and Chi Epsilon (engineering honor societies), and of his lifetime member status in the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Bill loved other things besides his career and his time in the Navy. He deeply loved his wife and kids and many of his career decisions were based on making things better for them. He loved being a husband and a dad – and was especially delighted by the curiosity of young children. He never tired of teaching his kids, and later his grandkids, and even his oldest great-grandchild Jak -- about the stars, the woods, Lake Superior, squirrels, and you name it. His family used to say that Bill was “three-quarters kid” and he never lost the ability to marvel at the beauty of a sunset, a mountain scene, rolling farm country, or most especially the lake he loved at the “Camp.” With a Starcraft camper hauled behind a blue Dodge station wagon, the family took two weeks virtually every summer to see America. Bill loved the space program, the Cubs, New Orleans, railroads, the outdoors, science, history (especially of “the Iron Range” of Northern Michigan), the Great Lakes, 50s music, his harmonica, the wonders of electronics, good food, decent beer or wine, the stars, the mountains, the oceans, animals, and the woods.
Most of all, Bill loved his Lord and had an unshakable faith in truth, right and wrong, and the ultimate victory of good over evil. Bill prayed daily for his family and was extremely proud of his kids and grandkids, always encouraging them to do their best in whatever path they chose.
After retirement in 1991, Bill and Vandy embarked on yet another adventure, living two years as full-time RVers in a pickup camper as they criss-crossed the country he loved and saw everything! Their married years were rounded out by fifteen years in Elgin, IL and four years in Sun Prairie, WI where he passed away at home with wife and family members by his side, on November 22, 2020 after struggling with dementia for four years and multiple myeloma for many months.
Bill is survived by his loving wife Vandy; son Craig and wife Anne of Goddard, KS; daughter Claire Baddeley and husband Matt of Woodinville, WA; son Wayne and wife Kathy of Sun Prairie, WI; grandchildren Neil, Diana, Laurel, Owen, Teresa, Grant, Stephen, and Laura; and great-grandchildren Jak, Luca, and Aisla.
Memorial gifts may be made to Agrace Hospice, Fitchburg, WI. Checks may be made payable to “Agrace Foundation” and mailed to: Agrace, 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711

“He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
-Micah 6:8