William "Bill" Menezes

William Menezes, husband, father, and grandfather was born October 29, 1930 in the Bronx, New York City. Despite being born in the height of the Great Depression he worked hard and graduated from high school with honors and the unique opportunity to be aboard the S.S. John W. Brown School Ship. In 1950 when the Korean War started, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, spending eight years in the Navy Reserve. While in the reserve he attended Valparaiso University in Indiana and graduated with a degree in engineering.

After graduating and leaving the Navy Reserve he spent a number of years working for major electronic companies like Allied Radio and Harman-Kardon. In 1965 he married the girl of his dreams Iris Ann Hudgens.  Soon after he and Iris would venture into business as Hi-Fi  Manufacturers Representatives, headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Their business was very successful and continued to flourish for decades. In later years refusing to retire he became a licensed insurance broker for various life and health companies up until the time of his passing.

He was an experienced private pilot and loved the time he spent flying his Cessna 310 tail number 610Z. He was also an avid Porsche enthusiast and loved to work on his own cars along with being a HAM radio operator with the call sign W9YSL.

He was preceded in death by his son, Gregory Zach Menezes. He leaves behind his wife, Iris; children:  Ellen Fortune (Cliff) Kansas City, MO, William J. Menezes (Amy) Denver, CO, Laura Howe, Chicago, IL, Lisa Kjar (Brad) Newnan, Georgia, and Stephanie Miller, Dallas, TX. He also leaves behind eleven loving grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and his beloved dog, Cookie.

A funeral service will be 6:00 pm Wednesday July 10th, 2019 at the Johnson County Funeral Chapel.  A visitation/reception will follow the service at the funeral home.  In lieu of flowers the family suggest memorial contributions in memory of Bill to the National Kidney Foundation, http://www.kidney.org/support or The Saint Luke's Foundation - Kidney Transplant: https://www.saintlukesgiving.org/tributes or you can mail it to: Saint Luke's Foundation-Kidney Transplant, 901 E. 104th St. Kansas City, MO 64131