William L. Brunswig, 85, of Fountain Hills, Arizona, passed away on June 27, 2022. Bill was born in Portland, Oregon, on March 15, 1937 to Norman W. and Mary Lee Brunswig.
Bill is survived by his wife of 33 years F. Jessie Brunswig; sons Eric K. Brunswig of Chehalis, Washington, and Kirk A. Newring of Gretna, Nebraska; two stepchildren Jennifer L. Wesselius of Kirkland, Washington and Jeffrey A.R. Wesselius of Tumwater, Washington; and three grandchildren. The family will hold a private memorial service at Messinger Fountain Hills Mortuary.
Bill was the youngest of two children. Bill’s adopted brother, John Brunswig, preceded Bill in death. Bill graduated from Chehalis High School where he was considered a baseball star and also played football. After graduating, he attended his mother’s alma mater, Whitman College, a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. He graduated with a degree in business and economics. He was the third-generation shoe store owner of Brunswig’s Shoes, Inc., the state’s oldest family shoe store in Chehalis, Washington, until he and his wife, Jessie, retired to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in Mexico. Bill and Jessie spent countless hours entertaining local friends, traveling, and had friends from all over the world and numerous relatives during their 18-year tenure in Cabo.
Bill and Jessie moved to Fountain Hills in 2017 due to Bill’s failing health. By then, they had already traveled most of the world. He was proud to turn the family shoe store over to his son, Eric, as the fourth generation of Brunswig’s to own Brunswig’s Shoes, Inc. Bill took delight in his adopted Los Cabo family, Javier Troncoso and Laura Bueno and their two boys Javier II and Felipe, and his special honorary daughters Azul Partridge and Rachel Rost. Bill owned Husky tickets for over 30 years and he and Jessie hardly missed a game until they left Washington. Bill thoroughly enjoyed his time living close to the sea in their Cabo home, playing duplicate bridge and watching every rerun of Perry Mason ever made. He was an avid reader and living near the sea and sun allowed him to read between six and nine books a week.
Donations may be made in memory of Bill to the Chehalis Foundation at P.O. Box 1608 in Chehalis, Washington, 98532-9133.
To view the obituary, please go to chronline.com/obituaries.
