William A. Sanford of St. Louis, Missouri the son of the late William and Mary (Costanzo) Sanford, died on Saturday, February 12, 2022 at Memorial East, Shiloh, IL.
He was preceded in death by his wife Doris (Jones) Sanford and daughter Linda Sanford.
He is survived by four children: William (Marianne) Sanford of Cottleville, Missouri, Donald (Dorothy) Sanford of Defiance, Missouri, Kathleen (Steve) Price of O’Fallon, Missouri, and Rebecca (Chris) Seaman of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; one sister, Anita Hicks of Detroit, Michigan; ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A native of St. Louis, Bill grew up on Angelica Street and lived 27 years in Bellefontaine Neighbors of North St. Louis and then upon retirement moved to Edwardsville, Illinois where he resided for 33 years.
Bill attended elementary school at Most Holy Trinity, high school at De Andreis, then graduated from Saint Louis University in 1954 immediately joining the Air Force. After two years of service, he returned to St Louis to pursue his law degree at Saint Louis University while also working full time at Union Electric.
Bill joined Union Electric (now Ameren) in 1957. He rose through the ranks to eventually become Vice President of Industrial Relations in 1971 and then Vice President of Supply Service in 1988. Bill retired in 1995 after 38 years of service.
Bill learned a love of food from his Italian grandfather, Tony. Throughout his entire life, Bill loved to cook, He was especially talented at making Italian food - affectionately known by his family and friends as the ‘meatball man’. Bill made many trips to The Hill to stock up on tomatoes, pasta, salami and cheese. Bill also enjoyed playing racquetball, awarded a State Handball Championship, and was an avid tennis player for many years.
Bill was a devoted husband who took care of the love of his life, Doris during an extended illness in their home and then would visit her twice a day while she was in full care.
Most of his life, Bill had to overcome major challenges but none proved as difficult as recovering from a stroke in 2007. He lost his ability to speak and spent painstaking hours working with a speech therapist and his sister (Anita) to regain it. As a result of the stroke, he also had aphasia and joined a therapy group for several years where he made new friends while he worked to improve his ability to speak. Bill benefited from many modern medical advances - his aortic valve replaced twice, a pacemaker and just recently had a device implanted to prevent blood clots. And even though late in life, he struggled with his health, he still found ways to enjoy his life through reading, cooking and entertaining. To support medical science advancement, Bill donated his body to Saint Louis University.
Service Saturday, February 26. Visitation from 1-2pm. Memorial Mass at 2pm.
St. Francis Xavier Church, 3628 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis. The family is organizing a luncheon at a restaurant on the Hill to honor Bill. Details on the restaurant will be provided at the service.
Please NO flowers or plants. In memory of our dad please Donate Blood. Or donate to the Alzheimer’s Association or Pathways to Independence,
www.ptistl.org.