William E. Salzer Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

William (Bill) Ellsworth Salzer, 84, of Wellington, FL, entered Heaven, to be with his Jesus that he loved so much, on July 28, 2021. His wife, Ginny, and daughter, Cindy, were blessed to be at his bedside, as he peacefully drew his last breath at Trust Bridge Hospice after 8 days. His daughters, Debbie and Michelle, had been able to spend time with him earlier in the day, as they did each day. Bill was born in Rochester, NY on February 13, 1937, where he grew up and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School, and co-op-ed as an engineer trainee at Eastman-Kodak in Camden, NJ while attending Rochester Institute of Technology. During his college years, Bill loved wrestling and excelled on the team. After graduating with an A.A.S. and B.S.E.E degree, he moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in 1962, where he began his computer engineering career at RCA, designing mainframe memory systems. After RCA went out of business in 1973, Bill became manager of new technology systems at Harris Corporation in Ft. Lauderdale. He and Ginny moved to nearby Margate with their family after their marriage in March 1975. Bill was an outdoor person, loved boating and was an avid fisherman during his years in Florida. In 1979, Bill and Ginny moved to AZ where Bill accepted a position as a memory design engineer with Motorola. After his future boss met him at the airport in Phoenix, wearing a pair of khaki pants and a polo shirt, instead of a suit and tie, that clenched the deal for him. So, the “For Sale” sign went up, and when their house sold, they headed out West to begin a new life. This proved to be one of the best decisions they ever made, as Bill had a successful and fulfilling 19-year career with them. They enjoyed their opportunities to travel and visit many places including Germany and Belgium when Motorola sent Bill on different projects. They both grew to love AZ and all the different activities and climate changes from the mountains to the “valley.” Bill discovered a passion for hiking, and the beautiful, rugged Superstition Mountains were one of his favorite places. He did this on many weekends, either with friends or Ginny. He also grew to love cycling on his 12-speed triathlon bicycle with other biking friends, which usually included at least one 40-mile ride each week. One of his favorite events was the AZ Sr. Olympics, and he was proud of the medals he won in his age group. He loved working outside in the yard, even in the AZ heat. He would work out at the gym 2-3 times-a-week, enjoyed running and swimming, and eventually got into triathlons. His dream was to one day compete in the Iron Man Triathlon in Hawaii, but unfortunately, he was unable to qualify, although he trained very hard. He did enter and complete the Fountain Mountain half- marathon one year, which was a big accomplishment. He tried hang gliding ONCE but decided that wasn’t a sport for him after running down a mountainside during training and bouncing off a few cacti on the way down. He renewed his scuba diving certificate that he had gotten in Florida so he could dive in Mexico on our vacations, as that was another activity he really enjoyed. Bill and Ginny enjoyed many hiking and camping trips with friends through the years and playing in the snow in the mountains in the wintertime. Bill also loved riding his Harley while enjoying the beautiful Arizona landscape. Their first church was Community Baptist Church of Gilbert, where Bill asked Jesus into his heart in 1987 after the loving witness of Pastor Wally and his sweet wife, Doris, for which Ginny will be forever thankful. Bill was an elder in the church, designed and helped install a new sound system, helped put in a large concrete parking lot for the church, and was involved in many other projects where his skills were useful. They later became members of Gateway Fellowship under Pastor Larry and his sweet wife, Carol, for almost 21 years before their move back to Florida. Bill taught Sunday School, had a prison ministry, sang in the choir and praise team, participated in several Christmas programs, helped in the AWANA and VBS programs along with Ginny, and used his skills to serve the Lord wherever he could. Unfortunately, Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2014, 2 years after moving back to Florida, with his added dementia diagnosis in 2017. It became much worse during the 2020 Covid pandemic, due to the isolation of not being able to see friends or go anywhere. Over the past 3-4 months, his physical and cognitive functions were rapidly declining each day and he hated what the disease was doing to him. He wound up in the hospital and suffered a devasting fall that he couldn’t recover from. Heartbroken as we all are without him, we’re thankful he’s with the Lord now, and free from the horrible disease that robs a person of everything they once were. He is survived by his loving wife of 46 years, Virginia (Ginny) Salzer; his beloved daughters, Debbie (Bill) Moreno; Michelle Salzer (Joe Hartman); beloved stepdaughter, Cindy (Dwayne) Soles; stepdaughter, Karen (Mark) Luebke; stepson, Michael Fagan; stepdaughter, LeeAnne (Mike) Adams; fourteen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, Dorothy May and Earl Varney Salzer; and his son, Gregg Salzer. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 200 SE 1st St, Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131 would be greatly appreciated by the family and the foundation for further research for a cure. You can also go online to www.parkinson.org to donate. Thank you. Services for August 28, 2021 have been cancelled until further notice.

William E. Salzer

February 13, 1937 - July 28, 2021