William George Kohlman

William George Kohlman Born April 5, 1925 in Rochester, New York to Odilla and George Kohlman. Drafted in his senior year of college to fight the Second World War. Bill had four siblings, three sisters and one brother, Robert Joseph, also the name of Bill's oldest, both of whom tragically died young. Bill liked to joke, subtly and one of his jokes was that he had many names: Sonny, William, Bill, George, Junior, Joseph, Kohlman… Bill is survived by his sister, Rosemary Starr of Cortland, NY; his children, Kathryn Kohlman Druliner, (spouse, David Druliner) of Carmichael and Dave loved him like a son. He is also survived by Thomas William Kohlman (spouse, Nancy Lee Kohlman) of Jackson, CA, who was really another daughter to Bill; Sue Sipe, who survived the untimely and unexpected death of James Kohlman born April 30, 1956; five granddaughters (Sarah Kohlman, Kasey Kohlman, Cheryl Kohlman, Rachel Kohlman Miller and Eryn Kohlman (spouse Steve Lovinger); a great grandson who always brought a smile to his face, Wyatt Lovinger, and his brand new baby sister, Vivien. There are an abundance - probably close to 100 Kohlmans in the Rochester, NY and Milwaukee, WI area. His interests were many but boiled down to a big three: family, sports, and religion. With a minor in Seinfeld. Family: Bill met Dolores in 1950 a blind date and they were married 11 months later on December 30, 1950. They had their firstborn November 5, 1951, Robert Joseph Kohlman. Dolores stayed home after they got married to be a homemaker and Bill got an entry-level job at Detroit Edison that developed into something very lucrative. He was assistant to the Executive VP and met many foreign dignitaries such as the Prince of the Netherlands and even our own General Eisenhower. But as he had to support a family of six, he took overtime and would referee on weekends. In 1972 his only daughter moved to CA and the next year Jim followed, soon to be followed by Tom and Nancy. So he retired in 1986 and he and Dolores moved to CA to be with their family. Sports: Always an outstanding athlete, through grade school, high school and college, Bill was inducted in the Hall of Fame at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada as the outstanding athlete for the decades of 1930, 1940, 1950, and 1960's. He played basketball (brutal under the boards earning him the nickname "elbows") and center in football. Later in life he played golf with Jim and Tom. Religion: Bill's faith was unwavering and very important to him. He was surprisingly knowledgeable about the most subtle facts but because he was such a humble man he insisted he was not intelligent and just graduated university because he was needed for the athletic program. This was not true. He knew concepts from the Catholic teachings that most others don't know and yet he did not need to know them because he just took the work of God as faith. Most importantly, he lived it; you would be hard pressed to find one who did not have a positive word to say about Bill. Funeral services will be held at a later date.