William (Bill) Edward Greve passed away May 29, 2021, after a decade-long battle with
Parkinson’s. Bill celebrated life with great humor and curiosity, firmly believing that safety and
the fine-print details were more suggestions than practice. Bill was born in Middletown, Ohio,
on December 14, 1938, to Eldon and Luella Greve. He was the fifth of what would be nine kids
in a busy and often chaotic house that shaped not only his self-reliance and ingenuity but the
speed with which he ate. Together, Bill and his siblings hatched many schemes and adventures,
such as constructing dubious soapbox cars for racing down the busiest streets in Hyde Park,
hopping trolley cars at a very young age to investigate far-flung parts of Cincinnati, or pouring
plaster over his brother Jim’s head to make a casting of it for an art project (don’t worry: Bill
made sure Jim had straws in his nose to breathe).
It was an upbringing that—besides making us all wonder how he made it to adulthood—
laid the foundation for his love of math and science and fearless adventure. Bill attended the
University of Dayton, majoring in math and physics, and then took a teaching role at an
international boarding school in Fribourg, Switzerland. But he flew to Indiana each summer to
take courses and complete his master’s in physics at Purdue University. Bill eventually moved to
Seattle and began teaching at Kent-Meridian and then Kentridge High School. It was at
Kentridge that he met his wife, Irene, who would elevate his appreciation of food beyond the
Pop-Tarts he ate out of his glove compartment. Bill and Irene were married in June 1971 and
immediately took off for a year to live in Woodford Green in Essex, England, where Bill was a
Fulbright Exchange Teacher at Bancroft’s Public School for Boys. In 1982, tired of classrooms
and chalk dust, Bill left teaching and began work at Boeing as a software engineer in research
and development, on various military projects, and on the 777 aircraft. During his time at
Boeing, he also completed his master’s in Software Engineering from Seattle University.
His love of math and teaching never waned, however, as he tutored both his
daughters—along with many of the neighborhood kids—in math, even holding math classes on
Saturday mornings in the back of the kitchen. He coached several of Adrienne’s and Delia’s
various sports teams with gusto, and if he wasn’t coaching, he was cheering or running
interference on our other more vocal parent. Never one to stay still too long, Bill enjoyed
hiking, camping, mountain climbing, sailing, golfing, traveling, and eating great food. Whether it
was summers spent out on Second Beach on the Washington Coast; summiting all the peaks in
the Pacific Northwest over ten thousand feet; traveling through Europe, China, and Mexico; or
sailing the Virgin Islands, Bill was open for adventure—some planned and some unplanned. He
once went to investigate a beach and failed to notice the tide come in. Stranded, he was forced
to swim with a group of sea otters around the headland rocks, only to find his wife on the other
side with the coast guard. He would also combine many of his hobbies into one adventure, such
as hiking from winery to winery in France.
Perhaps his greatest adventure was deciding to build a house from the ground up—but
only after he built a full, scale model with moveable walls so his wife could “fine tune” the
dimensions. With Bill hiring his senior physics students as labor, Bill and Irene broke ground in
May 1975 and closed the front door at Thanksgiving that same year. To celebrate its
completion, Bill and Irene threw the first of their many truly memorable parties. One of the
most notable was a surprise party that Bill planned himself for Irene’s 40th birthday . . . that
happened to be on her 39th birthday.
If Bill wasn’t being pulled over for suspected drunk driving while singing opera at the top
of his lungs stone sober, he was busy listening to symphonies, attending spring training baseball
games, exploring Montana backroads, and doing construction projects around the house . . .
and his friend’s homes . . . and his children’s homes . . . and his friend’s children’s homes with
the Nordsky crew, and then toasting to their completed success with glass of good chianti. Even
after his multiple strokes and his Parkinson’s diagnosis, Bill stayed active, relearning how to
walk more than once, riding his recumbent trike, and enjoying being with family and friends.
Bill is survived by his brothers Bob, Jim, and Tom; his sisters Mary, Carol, and Rita; his
wife, Irene; and his two daughters, Adrienne and Delia. He was preceded in death by his
brother Jack and his sister Virginia.
Donations can be made in his name to the Parkinson’s Foundation Pacific Northwest
Chapter (https://www.parkinson.org/ways-to-give) or the Washington Association of Land
Trusts (https://walandtrusts.org/donate/) to help improve green spaces. The funeral mass will
be held at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Burien at 1 pm on July 24, 2021, followed by a
reception to celebrate Bill’s life at the house he built.
