William ‘Bill’ Cantwell

William “Bill” Cantwell, 89, passed away peacefully on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.

Bill was born on Jan. 20, 1935, in Shawano. He was the son of the late Dr. Arthur and Alice (Davis) Cantwell Sr. Bill attended school in Shawano and graduated from Shawano High School in 1953. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he received a bachelor of science degree. Bill served in the U.S. Navy as an officer on an admiral’s joint staff in Taipei, Taiwan. Later he was assigned to a landing craft as part of the amphibious fleet headquartered in San Diego, California.

Upon finishing his time in the Navy, Bill returned to Madison and earned a pharmacy degree. On June 27, 1964, he was united in marriage to Kathryn “Cassy” Schauder at the First Presbyterian Church in Shawano. Bill was a community pharmacist for 51 years in the Shawano and Green Bay area. Most of those years he worked at the Clinic Pharmacy in Shawano and then later in his career at Dreier Pharmacy. Bill loved his pharmacy customers; he called people by their name, tried to cheer them with a kind word or joke, or offered some of his sage advice.

Bill served as Boy Scout leader and as the Scoutmaster of Troop 32 in Shawano for four years while his sons were in Scouts and was a loyal supporter for many years beyond that. For his leadership and support, he was awarded the Silver Beaver award. In 2015, the Shawano County Commission on Aging recognized Bill as a Living Treasure.

He was a member of the Shawano Optimist Club, Shawano Jaycees, United Way, chamber of commerce board and the Presbyterian Church of Shawano. Bill enjoyed horseback riding, gardening, reading, birdwatching, playing piano, traveling, and he mastered making Special K bars for family and friends.

Bill is survived by his wife of 59 years, Cassy; children, Jane (David) Schmidt of Burlington, Wisconsin, William Cantwell of Minnetonka, Minnesota, and Curtis (Colleen) Cantwell of Mendota Heights, Minnesota; grandchildren, Daniel (Delaney) Schmidt, Ally (Jared) Perry, John Schmidt, Elena Cantwell, Lily Cantwell, Gus Cantwell, Charlie Cantwell and Leo Cantwell; siblings, Dr. John (Marilyn) Cantwell of Atlanta, Georgia, and Sally (Tom) Basting of Milwaukee; and sister-in-law, Carol Cantwell. He is further survived by several nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Bill is preceded in death by his brother, Dr. Arthur Allen Cantwell Jr., and parents, Arthur Sr. and Alice.

Bill’s passion was to care for the environment, He planted numerous trees, recycled before recycling became popular, fed the birds and never took a walk without picking up some garbage.

You can honor his memory by doing the same.

A memorial service for Bill will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at the First Presbyterian Church in Shawano with the Rev. Debbie Pagels officiating. Visitation will be held at the church on Saturday from 10 a.m. am until the time of service. Memorials may be given to the Bay Lakes Council Boy Scouts of America or to the First Presbyterian Church of Shawano.

Inurnment will be at Woodlawn Cemetery in Shawano.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the Cottages Assisted Living, Heartland Hospice, Dr. Schlais of ThedaCare and Dr. Carrie Chapman of Heart and Vascular for the care they provided.

www.swedbergfuneralhome.com