William Luellen

Madison - William Robert "Bill" Luellen, age 69, passed away peacefully in his home of 35 years, on Thursday, March 29, 2012, after a courageous three year fight with heart failure, due to Amyloidosis.
His father-in law stated that "He could talk intelligently about anything"
Bill was born September 13, 1942, in Muscatine Iowa, to John "Jack" Luellen and Vera Marie Negus, the third of five siblings. Bill married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Lee Peterson on June 29, 1963, in Muscatine, Iowa. They have been married 49 years.
Bill earned his B.S. in Journalism from Iowa State University, Ames. While enrolled, he was the Sports Editor for the school newspaper. He then worked as a Reporter for the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, and as an education reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal.
For 30 years he worked in various positions at the American Society of Agronomy. He first wrote and edited a magazine that presented scientific and technical information to the general public. Later he was promoted to managing editor for three scientific journals.
In semi-retirement Bill formed his own business called Fine-Tuning Your Writing. This took him as a writing teacher to countries across the globe including Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Colombia.
Bill was very active with his beloved Catholic Church, serving as cantor and communion minister at mass. He and Nancy taught Retorno and Marriage Encounter weekends. He loved to go on retreats at the Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh.
A man of passion and humor, Bill had many interests, including reading, writing, story telling, camping, gardening, photography, astronomy, and flying.
He was a loving husband, a great friend, and a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Bill is survived by his wife, Nancy; his children, Patty Nicholas of Asheville, North Carolina, Geoffrey (Maria), of Madison, Wis., Jonathan (Pam), of Kenosha, Wis. and Michelle (Cesar Medina) Luellen, of San Diego, Calif.; his grandchildren, Beatrice, Peter, Jon Connor, Abigail, Julia, and Cyrus; and great-grandson, Camden. He is further survived by his sister, Barbara Hess of Rock Island, Ill.; and brothers, Jim of Muscatine, Iowa, and John, of Santa Rosa, Calif.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Mary Duesnberry; and his son-in-law, David Nicholas, who died this past Tuesday, March 27, 2012 in Asheville, North Carolina.
Mass and Christian burial will be held on Wednesday, April 4, 2012, at 11a.m. at OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 401 S. Owen Drive, Madison, WI 53711. A visitation will be held prior to service beginning at 9:30 a.m.
He will be missed more than words can express. Online condolences available at www.cressfuneralservice.com In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Our Lady Queen of Peace Church or to The Catholic Multicultural Center of Madison, Wis.