Surrounded by family and friends, Bill J. Reynolds, husband, father, grandfather, great-
grandfather, and educator, passed away at Bridge Hospice on October 18, 2023 at the age of 94.
Bill was born on August 11, 1929 to W. J. Reynolds and Grace Seaton Reynolds in Irving, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1954 and entered the Army as a Second Lieutenant after completing ROTC training at Kansas State. He served as an instructor at Fort Benning, Georgia until he was released from active duty in 1956. Following his service, Bill took jobs as principal and superintendent in a series of schools in Kansas, including Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Salina, Kansas. He was Director of the Registrar at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas until 1966 when he received his doctoral degree. Bill came to Bowling Green State University in 1967 as an assistant professor in the College of Education, initially working with the Anderson Foundation.
At Bowling Green State University, Bill was a professor, mentor, advisor, and friend to more than 40 doctoral students and hundreds of principals, superintendents, and teachers in educational administration and supervision. He enjoyed working with his students and took pride in their accomplishments whether they worked in the public schools, higher education, or business and industry. His area of expertise was school finance, based on his undergraduate degrees in accounting and education. Bill and his doctoral students researched and developed simulations to present students with difficult situations in which they had to make on-the-spot decisions in administration. His Army training and a trip to Disneyland inspired this very effective approach to preparing administrators.
He had a distinguished career in teaching, research, and publication, writing grants, publishing several articles, and serving as editor of the Journal of Secondary Education from 1975 to his retirement in 1991. As a young teacher, he was a teachers’ association representative, and at BGSU he was chair of the faculty senate from 1980 to 1981, speaking out as an advocate for faculty concerns and issues. Bill was Chairman of the Department of Educational Administration and Supervision on two different occasions. In 1986 he, along with JoAnne Martin-Reynolds, won the Phi Delta Kappa Research Award for research in rural education.
Bill was an avid boater and golfer and enjoyed remodeling and building houses in Michigan and Florida, where he spent 12 years before returning to Bowling Green. He loved to plant trees at every property he owned, using both shade and fruit trees. In BG he volunteered his time working with the Wood County Committee on Aging delivering meals and assisting with senior needs. He was good at making wine and beer and loved to share the results!
He was preceded in death by his sister, Willa Joy Reynolds Smith (Don) in 2011, and daughter Jennifer (Bob) Wenzke in 2017. Bill married Barbara Benfield (deceased 2015) and they had 4 children; Elizabeth (Greg) Kissner, Jennifer, John Reynolds, and Diana (Brad) Martin. He married his second wife JoAnne Martin-Reynolds in 1978, adding two more children to their family, Dustin (Renée) Martin and Kevin (Diane) Martin. His grandchildren include Allison (Steve) Krzyminski, Melissa (Bo) Freeman,
Theodore Emery, Diana (Brian) Beglin, Jessica (John) Hembree, Amanda (Gordon) Reed, Zachary Reynolds, Samantha (Travis) Baltz, Mitchell Martin, and step-grandchildren Kelly (Greg) Brooks,Gregory (Liane) Kissner, Thomas Wenzke, Elizabeth (Steve) Loeffler, and Kathryn (Kyle) Mosakowski, and several great grandchildren with more on the way!
There will be a public visitation/ice cream social at Deck-Hanneman Funeral Home, 1460 W. Wooster Street, Bowling Green, Ohio on Monday, October 23 from 4-6 p.m.A private-family burial will be held Tuesday, October 24.
Memorials may be given to the Wood County Committee on Aging for Meals on Wheels or Bridge Hospice.
