"Bill and I made many trips together and most of them were to Delco Electronics in Kokomo, IN. No matter what the business situation was, the customers were always happy to welcome us. He was a great guy and businessman. I was sad to hear the news of his passing and I'm sure that many others will feel the same way. He will be missed by many. Phil DeLuca Chicago Laser Systems"
In loving memory of
William Whitley
March 3, 1936 - April 16, 2017
William James Whitley, age 81 of Carmel, Indiana Born March 3, 1936, to the late William and Nancy (Porter) Whitley in Philadelphia, PA. William was a graduate of Northeast High School, class of 1954 and attended Villanova and Temple Universities before joining the US Army where he specialized in Electronics. His career spanned from positions in Philco/Ford Motor Company, Terradyne and Aegis.
After moving to Carmel in 1973, he and his wife, Dolores, became active in the local community, where they shared their passion for sports. Bill was an active member of the Carmel Football Association, Carmel Dads Club, Football Alumni Club and Woodland Country Club.
Survivors include: children William J. Whitley Jr. (Lora), Kim Whitley-Kedanis and grandchildren William J. Whitley III, Joe Kedanis and Whitley Kedanis.
Preceded in death: beloved wife Dolores T. Thompson Whitley, father William, mother Nancy, brother Roy Whitley
A gathering of friends and family will be held at Leppert Mortuary, 900 N Rangeline Road, Carmel, IN 46032, Tuesday, April 25, 2017, 4 - 7 p.m. Followed by a Celebration of Life at 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bill Whitley's honor to Carmel Dad's Club Scholarship Fund, 5459 E Main Street, Carmel, IN 46033.
Tributes
"Bill and Kim: Our sincerest sympathies to you and your family. Bill was truly one of best and we have been blessed to have known Bill for all these years. I looked forward to seeing Bill each spring as he would personally visit my office in Fishers to sign me up for the Woodland Country Club Christmas Golf outing. We loved to relive the great glory days of Carmel! Our prayers are with Bill and we are praying that God welcomes Big Bill home to be with Deloris. Most sincerely Kevin and Barbara Cook "
"In our family Bill was known as WHEELS. He would come to our home in Park Ridge and word was, "WHEELS IS HERE". He would drive in from Carmel in his blue (Bills favorite color) Cadillac and still be kind enough to acknowledge the children (even though he just drove 4 hours). He was a gentle man who became part of our family. WHEELS WILL BE MISSED. The Halminiak's (Mike, Brian, Maureen, Kevin & Heather)"
"Bill and I met for the first time as new employees of Teradyne, actually starting work on the same day in the early 70's. Teradyne was based in a "historic" aka "old" downtown Boston building. Many mornings during our initial training period Bill and I walked from our hotel to the plant through a picturesque part of Boston affectionately known locally as the "combat zone". It was comforting to have a big strong guy like Bill walking with me, although we never ran into anything more troubling than the occasional panhandler. The year Bill and I started at Teradyne annual sales were a whopping $13 million, no profit, actually they incurred a loss of $1 million that year. With a bit of buyer's remorse and starting to question my decision to join Teradyne, I asked Bill, "What do you think, are they going to make it?" He said don't worry about it "kid". They are a good company and they make great products. He should know as he was a customer before he was an employee, and in fact, Teradyne went from $13 million in the early 70's to $1.75 billion today. From the early days our paths crossed literally hundreds of times between sales meetings, trade shows and customer visits initially with Teradyne and later with Aegis Sales. Bill was never at a loss for words and our phone conversations rarely lasted less than an hour. Bill was well liked and with his engineering background he could communicate directly with the product development people and consequently was occasionally privy to company news often before any official announcement. I learned not to press Bill for information as I knew that he couldn't help himself, and the details would come bubbling out usually within a few minutes without prompting. Being a good engineer served him well as a technical sales person. Often he would bridge the technical gap between buyer and seller and suggest solutions that wouldn't have otherwise happened without his expertise. But above all, Bill was a good person, great partner and friend. He will be missed. "
"When AEGIS was the rep to Advantest for Motorola, Bill was great sales rep. My carrier at Texas could not start without his contributions. Bill was really mentor to me. The topic I often?recall was that when we were on travel, I complained the air liners, they charge same fare for big different weight passenger like Bill and I, he said "that why you got order from customer with skinny fee". I'm sad that I heard his passing. In my deeply sympathy, Hiroji Agata "
"Bill was a great friend in the days when I knew him in America. His contribution to Advantest is well remembered here. Our condolences for your loss, and best wishes to the family."
"Bill, We partnered up and co- founded Aegis, Inc. because you had all of the virtues of great character: The highest integrity, loyalty, reliability and a passion to succeed in any endeavor that I ever saw you undertake. You were my go to engineer, understood electronics exceptionally well and had a passion for the semiconductor business. You listened intently and thought before addressing a problem. Bill you were my best friend for 47 years. You always had my back! I miss you already and will do so until we meet again in the big sky conference room. See you Pal..."
"Bill, you represented Chicago Laser Systems as its automotive salesman from 19777 to 1994. You were spectacularly successful because of your pleasant personality and deep understanding of the US automotive market. We spoke as often as 4 or 5 times week about everything and anything. So long, old friend."
"Bill will be missed by all the members of the CherryRun Rod and Gun Club. I for one have a lot of great memories hunting with Bill. I'm honored to have know him.
Todd Dwyer"