Obituary of William Nesthus Herr

William Nesthus Herr passed away Jan. 23, 2017. He was a planner, both professionally and personally. His careful nature and attention to detail ensured the happiness of his friends, his family, and those around him. Always willing to go out of his way to help someone, always friendly, always ready to step in to offer a solution (sometimes several) to a problem, Bill eased the way for everyone else. No matter what he was called - Bill, Pop-Pop, Scooter, he was always ready to be called on. No detail was too small to be ignored. William Nesthus Herr was born in Madison Wis., to Gilbert and Theresa (Nesthus) Herr on Nov. 8, 1933. His beloved sister, Susan Kowalewski (Herr) was 11 years his junior. Although he did not know it at the time (although, knowing William Herr, perhaps he did), he met his future bride in his infancy; the Herrs and the Hands enjoyed card parties together and he and Joanne shared a crib before they shared a life. William attended Waunakee High School where he balanced his studies with athletics and work in the family drug store, graduating in 1951. He briefly attended Ripon College before transferring to the University of Wisconsin, where he graduated with a degree in planning. He remained a supporter of the university and an avid Badger fan throughout his life and trying to influence the referees in their favor through his TV. William served two years in the Army, and was stationed in France in the early 1950s. Always a planner, he sent a complete set of Limoges china to his sweetheart in the United States, Joanne. On June 22, 1957, William married Joanne Frances Hand. The two enjoyed a singularly happy union; they were married for 53 years and raised four children, William (Ellie) Herr Jr., Michael (Kathy) Herr, Mary (Henry) Reus, and Christopher (Melissa) Herr. William and Joanne spent many happy years traveling to visit their nine grandchildren, Erin, Conor, Bailey, Elece, Liam, Henry, Patrick, Georgie, and Jack. William worked in several different cities as a city planner, including Youngstown, Ohio and Lexington, Ky., before returning to Madison to complete his master’s degree in planning. But it was in Toledo, Ohio that William and Joanne finally settled and planned their own family. William served many years as the head of the Plan Commission in Toledo, finishing his long career as the director of planning for the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) in 1998. But once a planner, always a planner. Friends and family will always remember William’s habit of providing multiple routes for any destination and his lifelong fascination with where people were going and how they were getting there. His unerring sense of direction (leaving aside the ill-fated “shortcut” through Canada on a family vacation) earned him the affectionate title of Compass Head, and he loved looking at maps and being out on the road. One always got the sense with him that there was just another trip around the corner. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 28 in Sacred Heart Church, 90 Melrose Road, Auburn, NY, followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 12:15 p.m. with Rev. Christopher Welch, as celebrant. Memorials in William’s name to The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1848 University Ave., Madison, WI or the A.C.L.U., 125 Broad St. 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004.