William Siderius ’55

William Peter Siderius, age 87, of Elmhurst, IL, native of Lansing, IL, passed away in his home, surrounded by his loving family after courageously living the past 17 years with the effects of a stroke. He is survived by his beloved wife, Patricia Lee, nee Rice, of 35 years. Bill graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Accounting and was the youngest executive to be accepted into Harvard’s Advanced Management Program. He began his financial career at Arthur Andersen, moving to CF Industries, where he became CFO and then CEO of the Energy Cooperative (refinery of crude oil). Bill left his corporate leadership roles to launch a successful outplacement firm, which he created to reflect his strong belief that people needed excellent guidance and support when faced with job loss and career change. He fulfilled his mission of helping thousands of people successfully move through a challenging period in their lives. An enthusiastic fisherman, Bill looked forward to Chicago Bulls and Bears games, especially when they were winning, was active in his church, had a love of horses and particularly enjoyed riding therapy after his stroke. Bill and Patricia have been avid world travelers and share a love of gardening. He was the loving father of Sue Siderius (grandfather to Jacob and Kinsley); Beth (Bill) Heaton; Jeffrey (Beth) Siderius (grandfather to Sarah, Chris, Matthew); Julie McCray (grandfather to Jessica and Jonathan); dear uncle of Lisa (Mark) Gutknecht, Diana Rice (Andraan Harsta), Calvin Rice, Ivonne DeWolf, Treye (Marianne) Rice, Travis (Lauren) Rice as well as many other nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Bill was preceded in death by his brother Norman, and sisters Jeanette Newton and Annette DeWolf, and his first wife Jeanne, nee Upton. Bill will be deeply missed by those who relied upon his listening spirit and wise words, and enjoyed his sense of fun