William W. "Bill" Werner

William W. “Bill” Werner, 72, of Fond du Lac, Wis., passed away on September 7, 2017, at his home after a long and courageous battle against bladder cancer due to exposure to Agent Orange in the jungles of Vietnam.



He was born on July 25, 1945, in Joliet, Ill., the son of Lawrence and Dorothy (Schramm) Werner and grew up in Manhattan, Ill., where he graduated from Lincoln Way High School and Joliet Junior College. Bill married the love of his life, Penny Hamilton, at Division Street United Methodist Church in Joliet.



Bill worked at Caterpillar Tractor Company before he was drafted into the Army. He served in combat with the 199th Light Infantry in Vietnam from 1967 – 1969. He was honorably discharged in 1973 having attained the rank of Sergeant. They moved to Fond du Lac in 1972. He was employed at Stoelting Brothers in Kiel for 5 years as an engineer and Brenner Tank, Inc. for 33 years designing stainless steel tanks, director of quality control and customer service.



He was a very private man who, with Penny, loved to fly their Cessna airplane, travel the world, scuba dive, camp, ski in Colorado and Canada, boat, fish, and maintain his beautiful yard. He especially cherished the time spent with Penny, his son Greg and his grandchildren.



Bill was a member of Covenant United Methodist Church, South Hills Country Club, the American Legion – Trier Puddy Post #75, Disabled American Veterans, a former member of many work-related professional organizations and Blue Line Hockey Club.



He was incredible husband, father and grandfather. He will be greatly missed by his surviving wife, Penny, of Fond du Lac; grandchildren, Jessica Werner and Jeremy Werner and daughter-in-law, Theresa Werner, all of Waunakee, Wis.; sister, Susan Belice of Cody, Wyo.; sister-in-law, Sally (Charles) Brooks of Mission, Tex.; and brothers-in-law, Edwin (Gary Magruder) of Plainfield, Ill., Jerry (JoAnne) Hamilton of Oceanside, Calif. and Roger (Deb) Hamilton of Rochester, Wash.; and many nieces and nephews.



Preceding him in death were his beloved son, Gregory Alan Werner; his parents; and parents-in-law, Edwin Hamilton, Sr., Mary Hamilton Frey and Delbert Frey.



Visitation will be held from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at Uecker-Witt Funeral Home, 524 N. Park Ave. in Fond du Lac. Funeral service will begin at 12:00 PM with Pastor Joel Diener-Rogers officiating. Cremation will follow the services with interment in the Hamilton Family plot in Plainfield, Ill. occurring at a later date.



In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family for a college fund for Bill’s grandchildren or to the Fond du Lac Area Foundation.