Emanuel (Bill) Ziegler was born on July 18,1946 in Harvey, ND, the son of Philip and Elizabeth Ziegler. He was the thirteenth child of sixteen children. In his early years, he grew up with his large family on a farm near Drake, ND. He attended school in a one room schoolhouse which had a single teacher for all the children (rumor has it, it was an uphill walk to school both ways). When he was 10 years old about half of the family moved from North Dakota to North Idaho. Bill went to IHM academy high school in Coeur D'Alene, ID however, he finished his senior year at Clarks Fork High school where he eagerly participated in sports.

Following high school, Bill moved back with his family in Post Falls, ID and began working. He held several labor jobs including working in a lumber mill. Bill also joined the army reserves serving several years and achieving the rank of Specialist Four. He also took classes at North Idaho College to learn trade skills like welding and metal working. He then took an entry level 'grunt' job working at Acme concrete company in Spokane, WA and started working his way up. During this time, Bill met Gloria at a dance club in Coeur D'Alene, ID. She would become the absolute love of his life. After a long courtship, they married in 1971. Bill and Gloria had two children together. They lived in Post Falls, ID which was close to many of their family members. At 30 years of age, he was offered and eventually accepted a promotion to manage the Acme concrete production plant in Richland, WA. Bill and his family settled in Kennewick in 1978 and have been there since. He built the rest of his life around the community in the Tri-Cities area. However, he always kept strong ties with many people and places he cared about in the Spokane/Post Falls area and in North Dakota. He retired in 2010 from Central Pre-Mix after over 40 years serving in several operational, management and safety roles within the company as it evolved.

Throughout his life, Bill had a strong desire to gain new skills and took every opportunity to learn from mentors and friends. For example, he learned to be proficient at construction framing and designed and built several structures. He did not study engineering formally, but he had a natural aptitude for engineering principles and was very mechanically inclined. He was a true jack-of-all-trades and could fix or repair almost anything. At the same time, he was also very creative and had a knack for planning out and working on various projects. Some of these projects required a lot of vision and spanned several years.

Bill loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping, boating, fishing, golfing, trail riding, woodcutting in the mountains and especially hunting. He grew up playing cards and almost never turned down a chance to get into a game and visit with those around him. In their younger years, both Bill and Gloria played competitive softball. They have always been very active in their church together and were charter members of their parish. Bill also spearheaded the establishment of a new council of the Knights of Columbus at their church and served as the first Grand Knight as well as other roles over the years.

All throughout his personal life and professional career Bill was able to build friendships with many people. He had a jovial spirit and other people were attracted to his good nature and even temperament. Bill was very involved in his community and always made time for his family and friends. He was liked and loved by many people, and we truly believe this was a direct result of how he treated others during his time with us. He meant so much more to us than we can ever express. We are blessed to have known and loved him and we will miss him dearly. Bill left us to be with our Lord and Savior on May 14th, 2024. He is survived by his loving wife Gloria of Kennewick, WA; daughter Deby and her sons Matthew and Devyn of Kennewick, WA; son Mark and wife Linda and their son Eli of Stamford, CT. He is also survived by siblings Eleanor Eisenzimmer, Ann Schiele, Rose (Al) Grossman, Tony (Sue) Ziegler, Dave (Sue) Ziegler, Betty Johnson, Lawrence Ziegler and numerous nieces and nephews. Bill is preceded in death by both his parents and siblings Brigetta, John, Mary, Carl, Leonard, Valentine, Andy and Don.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a donation at Hope Medical https://www.hopemedicalwa.com, the KC HELP program https://www.knightscommunityhospitalequipmentloanprogram.com  or the Life Legal Defense Fund https://www.plldf.org  (or the charity of your choice).

The service to celebrate Bill's life will be held on Saturday June 15th, 2024 at the Parish of the Holy Spirit. A rosary will be said for him at 10:30 am and the church service will begin at 11 am. A reception for everyone will follow the service in the church community center.

Parish of the Holy Spirit

7409 W Clearwater Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336

P: 509-735-8558