Obituary

William (Bill) David Dahlin. May 28, 1927 - September 26, 2022, age 95.

Bill peacefully passed into the loving arms of Jesus Christ his Savior at his home and surrounded by family.

He is survived by his wife of twelve years, Anna R. Dahlin and his six children: Debbie (Sam) Pepple, Lawrence, KS; Ron (Jo Anne) Dahlin, Suwanee, GA; Cathy (Larry) Bononi, Kirkwood, MO; Sandy (the late Kevin) Reed, Winfield, MO; Tom (Sue) Dahlin, Creve Coeur, MO; Julie (Steve) Gizinski, Haymarket, VA; 26 grandchildren and their spouses; and 35 great-grandchildren. Additionally, he is survived by Anna’s daughters Lynn (the late Rick) Furgerson, Wildwood, MO; Nancy (Jeff Klein) Walker, Overland Park, KS; one grandchild and spouse; and one great-grandchild. Bill was also an uncle, cousin, brother-in-law, neighbor and friend to many.

He was preceded in death by his parents David and Minnie Dahlin, his wife of 53 years June McNabb Dahlin, and his brother Robert (Bob) Dahlin.

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Bill graduated from Wyandotte High School and entered the Marines in May 1945. He attended the University of Missouri after his honorable discharge in late 1946 and majored in business, eventually obtaining a marketing degree at the age of 80. As a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha social fraternity in Columbia, MO, he continued a lifetime association with many of his fraternity brothers. In 1950, he met and married June. Bill and his brother Bob were both entrepreneurs. In addition to numerous industry patents, they founded Benchcraft, Inc. - a storage and equipment company - in 1950. Erecto - an equipment and structural installation company - and Inventory Services Planning Group - a computer-based planning and design for maintenance and storage facilities - soon followed. After the businesses were sold in the late 80s and 90s, Bill also worked at Corporate Interiors, Peach State Integrated Technologies and Wiese Planning and Engineering as a special accounts sales manager.

Bill followed his favorite sport teams - Mizzou football, Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals - and he enjoyed fishing, boating, hunting and passing along his outdoor skills to his kids and grandkids. He was an early advocate of pickleball and turned the family driveway into a court. Bill was also an avid reader and regularly corresponded with family and friends through letters, emails, birthday, anniversary and holiday cards. He was instrumental in the development of the new Nature Center facility at the YMCA of the Ozarks and served as board member, chairman of the Marketing committee and as a member of the Human Resource committee.