May 18, 1936 — Jan. 27, 2019

Billy Lee Rockhill, 82, of Niles, passed away at his home surrounded by his family on Jan. 27, 2019.

He was born on May 18, 1936, the son of Amos and Olive (Carmean) Rockhill, both deceased.

Bill is survived by his wife of 63 years, Helen Patricia (Clarke) Rockhill; his brothers Allen, Donnie, Ronnie and Thomas Rockhill; his son James and daughter-in-law Catherine, son Timothy and daughter-in-law Rhonda, daughter Tamara and son-in-law Audie, son Thomas and daughter-in-law Martha, and son Todd and daughter-in-law Sarah; grandsons Timothy and Conor; granddaughters Jessy Oprea-Wilson and her husband Aaron, Erin, Caitlin Lundquist and her husband Charles, Rachel Sperry and her husband Devin, Samantha, Ceili, Emily Risener and her husband Danny, Morgan, Maggie, Rosie and Claudia; in addition to his four great-grandchildren Willow, Andrew, Hayden and Brooklyn Rose.

Bill served in the National Guard, worked as a draughtsman, and then a computer programmer at Kawneer, retiring as a programmer analyst at Miles Laboratories in 2001.

He had a multitude of interests, read widely, and had a knack for making friends wherever he went. Among his extracurricular skills, he built an electrostatic machine and reflector telescope in his own home, participated in reenactment activities throughout the Midwest as a Zouave, a frontier physician, and among other roles, liked to refer to himself as “a card-carrying Santa Claus.”

A Memorial Service for Bill will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, in Halbritter WIckens Funeral Home, 615 E. Main St., Niles where family and friends may gather one hour prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to University of Michigan Cancer Research Centerrogelcancercenter.org/giving.

Condolences for the family may be made at halbritterwickens.com.