William Stempson Obituary

William H. Stempson passed away on October 6, 2015 in Colorado Springs with his family close to his side. He was born on November 14, 1948 in Decatur Illinois to Kenneth D. Stempson and Elizabeth Hale Stempson (both deceased). He is survived by his brother Thomas.

Bill was an Army brat, following his family to various places, including El Paso, Texas, Ludwigsburg, Germany, and Colorado Springs, where he remained until graduating from Mitchell High School in 1967. He briefly attended Mesa College and transferred to University of Northern Colorado in 1969, graduating in 1971 with a B.S. in Business.

While at UNC he enjoyed many friendships with his fraternity brothers at Sigma Phi Epsilon. He also met his future wife, Cynthia Miller (Cindy), at UNC. They were married June 24, 1972 in Colorado Springs.

His business career took off right away, starting at The Hartford in Los Angeles after graduation. He and Cindy moved to San Francisco in 1976 where he worked at North American Reinsurance for the next 5 years. In 1981 he was transferred to NaRe's home office in New York City where he enjoyed a successful career, including 6 months in Zurich, Switzerland at NaRe's parent company, Swiss Reinsurance. It was with great sadness that he retired in 1996 due to Parkinson's Disease.

While in the New York area, Bill and Cindy spent 15 very happy years in Weston, CT. They welcomed son Matt in 1983 and daughter Katie in 1986 and Bill was a devoted father always. They and the children have so many fond memories of the friends they made while there.

Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease when Matt was a baby. To quote a dear friend, "Bill had to endure the burden for many years, but he did so with great courage, not letting it prevent his exuberance for life and doing the things he loved." He continued to ski, bike, golf, sail and hike for as long as he could.

After a few years in Florida, they came home to Colorado Springs in 2000 to be closer to family. Bill cherished the time he had with our noisy family of grandchildren, dogs and cat, and he was able to stay at home until the last two months thanks to his caregiver Tom Baskin.

He leaves behind his devoted wife Cindy; brother Thomas D. Stempson (Shirley) of Indianapolis; loving children Matthew and Katherine; grandchildren Jaden, Caleb, Dillon and Addison; special family members Kirsten and Jason; nieces Kristine, Karen, and nephew Shawn, and their families.

A memorial service will take place on Saturday October 17 at 2:00 PM at Swan-Law at 501 North Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Colorado Parkinson Foundation, Inc., 1155 Kelly Johnson Blvd., Suite 111, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.