William Bauer, 86, of Burlington, died at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, at his home.
Born April 26, 1935, in Rockford, Ill., he was the only child of William and Bernice M. Keohane Bauer. Bill married Joanne Dailey in 1958; they later divorced. On Nov. 27, 1981, he married Susan Porter in Burlington. They recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.
Bill graduated from Belvidere (Ill.) High School in 1953. He received his bachelor's degree from The University of Notre Dame in 1957 and his law degree from Georgetown Law School in 1960. After law school he joined the law firm of Dailey & Dailey, retiring after 40 years, then known as Bauer, Schulte, Hahn & Swanson. After his retirement from the law practice, he returned to school to become a chemical dependency counselor. In 2001, he joined ADDS (Alcohol Drug Dependency Services) as assistant director. He retired again in 2008. He was a faithful friend to Bill W. for 38 years.
Bill and Susan spent many years traveling. Their favorite place was their condo in Panama City Beach, Fla. where they spent many winters. Family was very important to Bill so in 1989, he and Susan started the Bauer Family Vacation (BFV). Every two years the whole family would meet for a week. The location started at cabins in Wisconsin and went all over including the Outer Banks, Tennessee, a houseboat in Kentucky, Panama City Beach, and Breckenridge and Steamboat in Colorado. The BFV included t-shirts, family pictures, and the Bauer Olympics. Bill and Susan were the judges for the events and often included "style" points.
Survivors include wife, Susan Bauer of Burlington; seven children, Anne (Kevin) King of Plano, Texas, Thomas (Lisa) Bauer of McKinny, Texas, John (Donovan Robinson) Bauer of Washington, D.C., Michael (Michelle) Bauer of Metairie, La., Elizabeth (Sean) Fleming of Lake in the Hill, Ill., Jimmy (Kelsey Lamb) Bauer of Fairfax, Iowa, and Kathleen (Josh) Schier of Burlington; twelve grandchildren, Travis (Jennifer Robinson) Howard, Annie (Jeff Phillips) Wilson, Ian (Ryan Gallagher) King, Sean (Bailey Lehew) King, Stefanie (Travis) Book, Jeremy Bauer, Emma Jane Bauer, Jack and Quinn Fleming, Haley Bauer, Elin Kay and Mazie Schier; and seven great-grandchildren, Addison Cardin, Harper, Cannon, and Piper Howard, and Ty, Tatum, and Sawyer Book.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his son, William J. Bauer.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the family kindly ask that all guests wear a mask or face coverings for the services.
Visitation will be from noon until 7 p.m. with the family to receive friends following a 4 p.m. Rosary Service until 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4 at Prugh-Thielen Funeral Home.
The Funeral Mass of the Resurrection for Bill will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5 at Divine Mercy Parish-St. John the Baptist Catholic Church with the Very Rev. Father Marty Goetz as the celebrant. Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery. A luncheon will be held in the community room at Prugh-Thielen Funeral Home following the burial.
In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established for The University of Notre Dame, Francis-O' Neil Family Grant in Aid, Department of Development, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or St. Vincent de Paul.