William Norman “Bill” Baltz, 82, of Greeley, Colo., passed away Thursday, June 18, 2015, at Hospice of Northern Colorado.

Bill was born on November 9, 1932, in Millstadt, to Russell and Ida Mae (Mueller) Baltz.

Bill grew up in Millstadt. He graduated from Bellville West High School and he graduated in 1968 from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Science.

Bill married Laverne Taake in Columbia on September 20, 1952. They were married for 63 years.

In his early years, Bill was a member of Zoar United Church of Christ in New Hanover. Since they moved to Greeley, Bill and Laverne were members of St. John’s United Church of Christ, where Bill served as the President as of January 1, 2014.

Bill was a civil engineer, licensed in five states; working for Monsanto, McDowell and F. Ray Martin, all in St. Louis. He then went to work for IBP in 1971 in Dakota City, Nebraska then at Superior Industries in Omaha, Nebraska. They moved to Greeley in 1988, where he worked at Monfort/ConAgra until his retirement. For the last ten years he has worked as a consultant for Farmland Foods. He and Laverne also ran a farming operation on his acreage in Illinois.

Bill and Laverne were members of the Greeley Country Club since 1989, where Bill, an avid golfer, was a member of the Men’s Golf Association. He was also a member of Tascosa Country Club in Amarillo, Texas, the Sioux City Boat Club in Sioux City, Iowa and the Colorado Seniors Golfer Association.

Bill loved sports; golf and baseball were his favorites. Bill enjoyed traveling and going to Colorado Rockies games. He also enjoyed going skiing in Keystone with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Bill is survived by his wife, Laverne Baltz of Greeley; daughter, Susan Baltz of Amarillo, Texas; son, William “Nik” Baltz (Donna) of Magnolia, Texas; sister, Virginia Hoehn of Malden, Missouri; brother, Russell Baltz (Shirley) of Millstadt, Illinois; two grandchildren, Jennifer Bishop (Dustin) of Marshall, Illinois and Claudia Baltz of Amarillo, Texas; and two great-grandchildren, Briar William Bishop and Breck Ann Bishop both of Marshall.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and daughter, Christine Baltz.

Visitation will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, June 22, 2015 followed by Funeral service at 11:00 a.m. both at St. John’s United Church of Christ.

A local viewing will be held Thursday, June 25, from 5 to 8 p.m., at Strauss-Leesman Funeral Home, Millstadt. Funeral services will be held June 26, at 11 a.m., at Zoar United Church of Christ in New Hanover. Interment will be at Mt. Evergreen Cemetery in Millstadt.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. John’s United Church of Christ, ALS Society or your favorite charity of choice in care of Stoddard Funeral Home, 3205 West 28^th Street, Greeley, Colorado 80634.

Please visit www.stoddardsunset.com to sign an online guestbook.