William J. Scales

William J. Scales, age 81, formerly of Glen Ellyn. Beloved husband of Kathleen C. Scales; loving father of the late Big Brother Billy, Kelly Cobian, Mary Beth Belcher (Dave Newlin), William Scales, Sheila (Dave) Zisk, Colleen (Anthony) Collins, Thomas (Michelle) Scales; cherished grandfather of 17; precious great-grandfather of 15; dearest son of the late Mary and Peter Scales. Bill is survived by his sister Mary Kay (the late Jerry) Bern, the late Patricia (Jack) Trevillian, the late Peter Scales, the late Rosemary (the late Ed) Mulheran, the late Kathleen “Honey” Scales; prized uncle, cousin and friend of many. Visitation Sunday May 1, 2022 from 3 until 9 at Salerno’s Rosedale Funeral Chapels, 450 West Lake Street, Roselle. Mass on Monday May 2, 2022 at 10 a.m. at St. Matthew Church, 1555 Glen Ellyn Road, Glendale Heights. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to RRAF which benefits adults with developmental disabilities, 613 South Main Street, Lombard, IL 60148 www.rraf.org, or JourneyCare Hospice 405 North Lake Zurich Rd, Barrington, IL 60010 would be appreciated.
William Scales was born to Mary and Peter Scales on August 17, 1940 and raised in Chicago. He attended St. Sabina Parish and then Leo High School. When he was in grade school, he met the love of his life Kathleen Scales. He loved to roller skate in competitions with “Kathy.” He was blessed to make many lifelong friends as a child, they referred to him as Red.
Bill and Kathy were married May 13, 1961. He enjoyed spending his time with Kathy the most. They did everything together including spending time up in Wisconsin and in Florida. Each and every day of his life he worked towards making Kathy and his family happy. This May 13 would have been their 61st wedding anniversary and he is now reunited with the love of his life in Heaven.
Bill and Kathy’s life revolved around raising their six children. His children would absolutely say he was very strict and stern with high expectations, however he was softy at heart. He always made sure that wonderful memories were made for his children.
Bill was a Local 134 IBEW electrician and loved his work. Everybody in the Union knew of Red Scales. He was a proud, American Union man, through and through. Through the years, Bill did what was necessary to provide for his family by working all over the United States. He especially enjoyed his time in Alaska while working on the Pipeline and working on the Sears Tower in Chicago.
Bill was a car enthusiast who loved all the older cars. He enjoyed showing off his 1957 Ford Fairlane Retractable Convertible at local car shows; receiving numerous trophies. He was such a car enthusiast, he had several entire spare cars just for parts! He loved spending summers up in Wisconsin at the family cottages on Eagle Lake, Lily Lake and Bohners Lake. Bill was the Captain of numerous boats that were used to teach his children, grandchildren and many others how to swim, ski, tube and drive the boat.
Bill has 17 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, who he adored and put a twinkle in his eye. Bill was dubbed “Papa Boats” by his grandchildren. Bill was a great sport and dressed up for every holiday to make his family happy. Bill carried on the legacy of his mother who was called Gramma Nummies, because you could not visit his house without him giving you candy from his trusty candy bowl that was always by his side. Pops always made sure you had something to eat and something sweet at his house. He would always support Kathy with throwing the best parties complete with tons of food, decorations and costumes. He never let a birthday go by without celebrating with a cake and decorations. He made sure to make every one of his grandchildren feel special by attending games, plays, graduations and every event he could. He was always the grandkids number one cheerleader and he wasn’t above letting the grandkids put makeup on him or dress him up like a Garbage Can for Halloween.
As this is getting lengthy, we can hear Bill saying “Hey KIS – Keep it short!”