William "Bill" McBroom

– Professor William "Bill" McBroom died Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, quietly at his home in Missoula.

William Harris McBroom was born June 24, 1937, in Findlay, Ohio, the son of Dr. Russell McBroom and Louise McBroom. He was the second child, having a sister Anne, with whom he was always close. Bill grew up in Detroit, where he attended McKinley High School. He enjoyed various clubs and loved playing the drums while in school. He had fond memories of Detroit in the 1940s, when it was one of the largest cities in America.

Bill served in the Army from 1955 to 1957. During this time, he served in the Old Guard in Washington, D.C. After his military service, he attended Ohio State University, earning his doctorate in sociology. It is during this time when he met the love of his life, Gretchen Kay Greiner, to whom he was married for more than 54 years. Bill and Gretchen had three children, William Sean, Kenneth and Douglas McBroom, all born in Columbus, Ohio.

Upon earning his doctorate, Bill accepted a position in 1968 at the University of Montana. During his tenure, he served as the chair of the Sociology Department, president of the faculty senate and president of the teachers union. Bill loved to teach and would find connections between very different subjects to help his students understand a topic. For example, he taught the binomial expansion as part of his course on social statistics and linked it to Bach's "Art of Fugue" as a musical representation of the expansion. During his 35 years of service at the university, he was a generous colleague and friend.

Bill loved his children and grandchildren. He always made time for his family. He would travel great distances to watch his children's and grandchildren's events. From cross country and football to triathlons and jujitsu, Bill would always make his children's and grandchildren's events his priority. He was a loving and caring father and grandfather. More importantly, he serves as a role model to his children and grandchildren.

His passions in life included chess and practical shooting. Thursday nights were impossible to contact Bill, as he was playing chess. He loved playing and he participated in organized chess for more than 30 years. He was always pleased when his chess rating would go up and he was ecstatic when his rating was briefly more than 1, 800.

Bill also enjoyed practical shooting. He designed many competition courses and participated in many events. One of his greatest thrills was to shoot in matches with his children and grandchildren. Bill also was a member of the VFW Honor Guard, helping provide full military honors at veterans' funerals.

Bill was preceded in death by his father, Russell; mother, Louise; sister, Anne Stasinos; and son, Kenneth McBroom. He is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Gretchen McBroom; and two sons, Sean and daughter-in-law Leslie of Waldorf, Md., and grandchildren Jordan, Shannon, Ryan, Kimberly Dexter and Joe Dexter, and Douglas and daughter-in-law Jennifer of Helena and grandchildren Alexandra, AJ and Abby. Finally, Bill is survived by his two Dobermans, Liesl and Rusty.

Services will be held at the Holy Spirit Episcopal Church at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, with a reception to follow. Burial will be at 3 p.m. at Sunset Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the Kenneth Andrew McBroom Memorial Scholarship UM School of Music
Read William McBroom's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.