Obituary: Condotta, William Joseph “Bill”
Age 85
Bill was born October 12, 1928 to Joe and Harriet (Lashell) Condotta in Missoula, MT.
He was the youngest of two boys.
He spent the majority of his childhood in St. Regis, MT playing sports, fishing, hunting and tending to his farm animals.
Due to the shortage of men called to duty for WW II, Bill started working for the railroad at the age of 12.
Although he said he was 14, he wanted to do his part to help our country.
In 1946 he graduated from St. Regis High School and enlisted in the army.
He was stationed in Kyota, Japan as a military policeman.
He was honorably discharged and returned to the U.S. in 1948.
He then attended school in Farragut, ID for Industrial Electricity and played college basketball, wearing the lucky #12.
It was during this time that he met the love of his life, Mary Ellen Stefanac.
They were married on June 14, 1952 in Mullan, Idaho.
Together, they raised four beautiful children: Stephanie, William, Ellen and David.
Bill worked for the railroad for much of his life and moved all over the country.
He started with the Northern Pacific, which eventually merged into Burlington Northern.
He wore many different hats during his service for the BN, starting out as the assistant road master in Staples, MN and rising through the ranks to Assistant Vice President of Operations in Denver, CO. After 38 Ă‚Ë?
years of service, Bill retired from the BN on November 1, 1983.
Bill and Mary Ellen led an adventure filled life full of travel, fishing, hiking, gardening and spending time with family.
He was a very generous, humble man; full of wit and charm.
He had the most captivating blue eyes, olive “Italian” skin and an ear to ear grin.
He was a hard working, dedicated man, full of faith and was a member of St. John Vianney Catholic Church.
He lived for his wife of 62 years and was a role model to his children and an inspiration to his grandchildren.
Bill volunteered much of his time with SCOPE, Veteran’s Association, Rest Stops with coffee and cookies and spent 27 years as an IRS income tax volunteer.
The Cardiac Rehab Exercise Program was a big part of his life for 28 years and he gained many lasting friendships.
We are all truly blessed to have had such an amazing man in our lives and he will be missed beyond belief.
He is preceded in death by his daughter-in-law, Shirley Condotta; brother, Denny Condotta and his mother and father.
“Pa” is survived by his loving wife, Mary Ellen Condotta of Spokane; four children, Stephanie (Alan) Shammel of Hilger, MT; Bill (Sue) Condotta of Keller, TX; Ellen (Carey) Swenson of Miles City, MT, David (Shirley) Condotta of Grand Junction, CO; nine grandchildren, Erin (Jon) Baker, Lyle (Mariah) Shammel, Heidi (Chris) Fritz, John Swenson, Katie (JR) Lund, Kristin (Seth) Lee, Billy, Matt and Ryan Condotta; and six great-grandchildren, Bodie and Nash Lund, Colter and Lizzie Shammel, Lance and Marty Fritz.
A Rosary will be held Thursday, August 28th at 7:00 p.m. at St. John Vianney’s Catholic Church, located at 503 North Walnut Road.
A funeral mass will be held Friday, August 29th at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Vianney’s Catholic Church.
An interment and military salute will be held at 2:15 p.m. at Washington Veteran’s Cemetery located at 21702 West Espanola Road, Medical Lake.