William F. Harvey

William F. Harvey, of Munster, IN passed peacefully on Wednesday August 27, 2014 at the age of 65 in the home that he built, while surrounded by his wife of 44 years (Diana Lynn), his 2 children, Charles W. (Denise) Harvey and Jennifer Higgins, his 6 grandchildren (Cooper, William, Nathan, Drew, Lauren, and Nicholas), members of his loving family, and many cherished friends. His unbreakable integrity, appreciation for the city of Chicago, as well as, his own community of Munster, and a sense of humor so dry only a fortunate few could react with a chuckle, will live well beyond his passing.\tBill was born December 20, 1948, the second of 5 children to the late Raymond & Constance (Graves)Harvey. He grew up in the Hessville area of Hammond, Indiana. Bill attended Morton High School where he victoriously led the Governors football team to a state championship in 1965. Upon graduating in 1967, he enlisted in the US Army where he was stationed in Germany and Japan. While in Japan, “Bull” Harvey was invited to be a part of the “All-Island” football team. Then in 1970 he married his high school sweetheart, Diana (Bahleda). \tA majority of Mr. Harvey’s career, which began in 1966, was spent in the steel mills of East Chicago, Indiana through the Machinist Apprenticeship program at LTV Steel. Then he went on to be a journeyman machinist for 17 years. Bill moved to the Castor/BOF for another 17 years where he ended his career in 1999. He developed his technical skills over his life by managing many income properties. He parlayed his talents into a fine home building company in 1986, known as Harvey Construction. His homes can be seen all over Lake County. At the time of his death, Mr. Harvey was a consultant for ADP safety.\tUpon retirement from the home building business, Bill did not stay idle for long and enjoyed many hobbies. He was a proud member of Union 1011. Mr. Harvey piloted small planes out of the Lansing Airport and was an active member of the Chicago Cycling Club (CCC). Mr. Harvey enjoyed talking politics and supported many local politicians but never associated himself with a particular party. His biggest source of pride and happiness was being a good father to his 2 children and “Papa” to his 6 young grandchildren.\tWilliam is also survived by brothers Mark (Donna) Harvey, Charles (the late Susan) Harvey, sister Elizabeth (Dave) Riddell, late sister Gail Harvey, brother-in-law Dave (Judy) Bizik and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. A celebration of life will be held at Kish Funeral Home, 10000 Calumet Avenue Munster, IN from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday August 30, 2014. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Hospice of Calumet Area for the extraordinary care they provided Mr. Harvey in his last days. It was a tremendous gift to have 52 days to say good-bye to this dynamic man. “If a man were to be measured by the friends he keeps, you my friend, have given me moments of greatness.”-Steve Vadas