November 3, 1937 – May 18, 2021

William Arthur “Bill” Collison was born in Spokane to Merwin and Evelyn Collison. In time, his sister, Jacqueline “Jacquie” (Collison) Grant, joined the family. Bill’s formative years were spent in Coulee Dam where his father worked for the Bureau of Reclamation, supporting construction of Grand Coulee Dam.

Following his father's transfer to Yakima shortly before his senior year, Bill left behind his 24 classmates from Coulee Dam High School, but continued to cherish those relationships throughout his life. In his new town, Bill met fellow Yakima High School classmate, Andrea “Aundie” Trenner while roller-skating. It was the beginning of their lifetime together and they married in 1958.

The couple transferred from Yakima Valley Junior College to the University of Washington, where Bill play cornet in the Husky Marching Band and graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration. (Later in life, he would attend UW games with one of his sons, enjoying the band’s halftime performances far more than the football being played.)

Bill and Aundie made Seattle home, raised their three children, Tim (Carol), Kim (Dave), and Chris (Sandy), and resided in the same house in the Meadowbrook neighborhood for over 50 years.

Bill worked as a computer programmer for The Boeing Company. He joked he was hired as he’d taken all of the UW’s computer science courses to date – both of them. By the late-1960s, Bill moved on to the Seattle School District where he was a computer systems analyst (one of the first three employees in the fledgling computer department), assisting with the installation of the School District’s original mainframe computers. He also “educated the educators” on how the computers could benefit the School District. In the late-1970s, he and Aundie transitioned to residential real estate sales – working as a team for over 30 years. Bill retired as a real estate broker with Windermere Real Estate.

Embracing his small-town upbringing throughout his life, Bill sought out friendships at every turn and welcomed the opportunity to establish and grow his relationships in both breadth and depth.

He was active in church and community organizations. Bill and Aundie were members of First United Methodist Church (Seattle) and later First Free Methodist Church (Seattle). Most recently, they worshipped at Warm Beach Free Methodist Church (Stanwood). Bill was also a member and Past Master of St. John’s Lodge No. 9 (F&AM), served as Akela in Cub Scout Pack 144, and was a member of both the University-Ballard Lion’s Club and the Hearing Loss Association of Washington.

Though he began to experience severe hearing loss at age 30, he still appreciated music, plays, movies, and musicals. Bill wouldn’t hesitate to encourage others to get their hearing checked and to actively wear hearing aids at the earliest possible opportunity (especially in light of the correlation between untreated hearing loss and early onset dementia). It was important to him that the hearing impaired continue to fully participate in their favorite activities. He was also a proponent of improving the audio systems in public spaces to make them more accessible to the hearing impaired – including churches, social organizations, live theatres, and movie houses.

Bill’s passions included reading, roller-skating, remodeling his homes, camping, and fishing. He also enjoyed traveling; Maui was a favorite of the couple. Bill developed a fondness for baking. It was not uncommon for him to appear at the doors of family, friends, and neighbors with a gift of fresh bread, cookies, or orange rolls.

From birthdays, to holidays, to Fourth of July picnics, Bill relished celebrations with family and friends. He consistently sought opportunities to foster an environment of comfort and inclusion.

In spite of the many titles he held throughout his life, his best-suited may have been that of grandfather to Kirsten, Lindsey, Lauren, and Will.

Bill passed away peacefully from multiple myeloma at their new home on the campus of Warm Beach Senior Community and into the loving arms of our Lord.

The inscription on Bill’s urn said it best:

When Christ shall take me home,

What joy will fill my heart.

Then I shall bow and proclaim,

“My God, How Great Thou Art.”

FUNERAL INFORMATION

A celebration of Bill’s life was held on Saturday, July 24, 2021, at Warm Beach Free Methodist Church, in Stanwood, Washington. A recording of the service is available here. For those who are hearing impaired, like Bill, both the service and the recording were captioned.

DONATIONS

In lieu of flowers, you might consider making a donation in Bill’s name to the Hearing Loss Association of Washington or the Warm Beach Good Samaritan Rent & Living Essentials Fund.