The Excelsior Standard, Feb. 9, 2024

William Joseph “Bill” Greim of Excelsior Springs passed away Jan. 31, 2024, at his home.

A visitation was held 4-6 p.m., with a rosary at 4, on Friday, Feb. 2, at Bross and Spidle Funeral Home in Excelsior Springs. The funeral Mass was held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at St. Ann Catholic Church, followed by the burial at Crown Hill Cemetery in Excelsior

William Greim

Springs.

Bill was born Jan. 28, 1944, in Excelsior Springs to Dean Sprague Greim and Helen Mae Lee Greim, who lovingly raised Bill (Billy Joe or “Pup”) and his three brothers, Rex, Don and Larry, on Dunbar Avenue in Excelsior’s heyday. Bill lifeguarded at Lake Maurer and The Elms, manned the Greim drugstore soda fountain, and followed his brothers as an Excelsior Springs High School (ESHS) football and basketball player.

He attended Central Missouri State University, enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam.

Bill married fellow teacher Mary Lou Robak, his wife of 49 years, in 1974. The family returned to Excelsior in 1979 after Edward Dean and William Joseph Jr. (Eddie and Billy) had been born in Omaha, Neb.

Bill taught algebra and geometry “proofs” to generations of Excelsiorites at Lewis Middle School and later ESHS.

An Excelsior golf club mainstay, Bill hit holes in one on every par 3. He was proud to develop young golfers and coached ESHS golf to win at state, but also found time to volunteer at the Good Samaritan Center, which Mary Lou helped start.

He imparted to his boys his love of Missouri history, the Boston Celtics and travel. So, too, his lifelong Missouri Tiger fandom, which had placed him at odds with a few of his older brothers. Bill rarely spent money in Kansas – and not just because of his thrift.

Like his own dad, Bill was beloved for his good nature and oddball sense of humor. The trait, noticeable in his brothers (who predeceased him), barely survives in his two attorney sons and 15 grandkids: Delaney, Liam, Nolan, Ella, Clara, Cole, Mary, Vivian, Caroline, Lydia, Helena, Paloma, Greta, Wila and Maria.

Bill’s strong Catholic faith, inherited from his mother, sustained him in a prolonged battle with Alzheimer’s. He was aided by a loyal family friend, Trish Guarino, these last years.

Baba, we will miss you. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Ann Catholic Church or the Good Samaritan Center of Excelsior Springs.

Arrangements: Bross & Spidle Funeral Home, Excelsior Springs. Phone: 816-630-3131.