William “Bill” Anthony Semler, 71, of Morgantown, passed away peacefully, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. He was born Feb. 2,1949, in Morgantown, the son of the late Clem Semler and Virginia (Pacurar) Semler.
Bill was a 1967 graduate, of Morgantown High School and a 1971 graduate of WVU where he earned a B.S. degree in industrial engineering. During his lifetime, Bill was the owner/operator of Semler News Agency, founded by his father Clem. He then went on to become the owner/operator of five Subway restaurants. He retired in 2012. He was a faithful member of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Morgantown and a past member of the Knights of Columbus and the Morgantown Elks Lodge.
Bill was involved in sports from his school years through adulthood. He lettered in football, basketball and track at MHS. He played Legion baseball and he participated in intramural wrestling at WVU. Bill spent many years as a volunteer coach for his two sons’, Chad and Anthony, sports teams. He helped coach from 1984-1990 in the Morgantown Midget Football League for the Cheat Lake Chargers. They went undefeated with a
92-0 record and six league championships. He helped coach his sons’ basketball teams to two championships in the Cheat Lake Basketball League. Bill coached his boys’ baseball teams from T-ball to Little League to Pony League, where he took them to the Pony League World Series.
As an avid fan, Alumni Association member, donor to the Mountaineer Athletic Club and season ticket holder for WVU football and basketball, Bill always wore the “Gold and Blue” on game day. On the day before he passed, he watched the WVU basketball game vs. Oklahoma with his wife Brenda and sons.
Bill enjoyed his life to the fullest, travelling to Hawaii, Jamaica and Cancun, taking a Caribbean cruise and many skiing trips to area slopes. He and Brenda loved dancing where they were many times encircled when he put on his special moves and ended with his famous split. This love of life earned Bill many nicknames throughout his life: Little Billy Semler, Winkie, Willy and Wild Bill.
Bill found much joy in opening their home for holiday gatherings and family reunions. In the summer, friends and family gathered around the pool every weekend for a lot of food and fun and the yard was enjoyed by his sons’ friends for summertime games. Bill loved the beach and spent more and more time with Brenda and the boys at their condo in Garden City, S.C. As a loving husband and father, he brought to his family many traditions, two of which were “The Semler Birthday Cake” and holding a coin in hand (for financial luck) at midnight on New Year’s Eve. He had a coin in his hand as the ball dropped at Times Square two days before he passed.
In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death and greeted in heaven by his brother, Pete Semler.
Bill is survived by his lovingly devoted wife of
47 years, Brenda Mulligan Semler; his loving sons, Chad Barrett Semler and William Anthony Semler II, of Morgantown; brother Michael and wife Judy Semler, of Morgantown; sister-in-law, Patricia Mulligan Gross and brother-in-law, Robert W. Gross, of Morgantown; nephew, Robert W. Gross II and wife Karyn Toth Gross, of Jefferson, Md.; and grandnieces Morgan Elyse Gross and Bailey Nicole Gross, of Jefferson, Md.
A private Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church with interment to follow at Beverly Hills Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Ronald McDonald House, 451 44th St., Penthouse Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15201 or rmhcpgh-mgtn.org; or to St. Ursula Food Pantry, P.O. Box 18, Pursglove, WV 26546.
Hastings Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.
Condolences:
www.hastingsfuneralhome.com
