William A. Tell

William A. Tell of Morton Grove, beloved husband of Elizabeth "Betty"; dear father of Chris (the late Michael) Grene, Betsy (Carey) Hidaka, Bill (Mary) and Dan (Alice); loving grandfather of Kiki, Jess, Dan, Cait, Bob, Laura, Chris, Duck, Cassie and Sean; cherished great grandfather of Aidan, Ava, Emma, Sophie and Emerson; fond brother of the late James (Pat). Visitation at St. Martha Church 8523 Georgiana Ave. Morton Grove Tuesday from 10 a.m. until time of Mass at 11 a.m. Cremation private. In lieu of flowers, donations to ASPCA at www.aspca.org/donate appreciated. Sign online guestbook at www.simkinsfh.com 847-965-2500

William Arthur Tell Jr. was born to William and Catherine (O’Donnell) Tell on March 26th,1923.  He died surrounded by the loving presence of his wife, family and his beloved caregiver, Francis, on February 14th, 2019. Bill attended St. George High School, and met his wife Betty at Loyola University of Chicago from which he graduated in 1949. Together Bill and Betty raised four children in the Village of Morton Grove.  Bill grew up with his beloved brother, Jim, who also had four children and lived in Morton Grove.  Upon graduating from Loyola, Bill worked as a dedicated Insurance Agent throughout his adult career.  
Beyond the love and care that he held for family and friends, Bill had two personal passions and sources of pride, baseball and the U.S. Navy.  He shared many fond memories of playing sandlot ball with lifelong friends, games played on the baseball diamond at Winnemac Park, winning a Navy Game during the war, and the eventual letter that came from the Chicago Cubs.  Most of his leisure time as a young father was spent in the pursuit of coaching his sons and other young men playing baseball. As a grandfather, he coached his granddaughters' softball team to a winning season as an assistant to his youngest daughter.  He was a gentle and patient coach who truly loved mentoring young men and women into the sport that contributed so much  to his life.  As recently as a few weeks ago, he entertained the idea of going to Spring Training in Arizona.  
As a member of the Greatest Generation, Bill served in the U.S Navy during World War II. He  enlisted on January 24th,1943 as an apprentice seaman.  He was honorably discharged December 7th, 1945 with the rank of Radioman 2/c USNR.  The following thoughts are recorded about his Navy experience in a book he wrote for his children and grandchildren. “Best of all I truly believe that the Navy was an experience second to none in speeding the maturing process of young boys.  It taught the real meaning of honoring your family, God and country and how to get along with others.  Finally it taught discipline, sacrifice and conquering fear.” 
Bill’s life was the American Dream.  He came of age in the Depression, he served his country at a time of war, he raised four successful children and he passed on at the age of 95 surrounded by his family. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of William A. Tell, please visit our floral store.