William Henry (Bill) Avery passed away on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 in Savoy, IL, one week after his 97th birthday.

Bill was born April 7, 1923 in Gardiner, MT to Ned and Alice Avery. He attended elementary school in Gardiner. Bill’s father was a US Forest Ranger and the family moved to Custer, SD where Bill and his sister, Muriel, went to junior high school. The family later moved to Laramie, WY where Bill went to high school. He graduated in 1941 and was Salutatorian of his class.

His grandmother bought him a trombone and lessons in 8th grade, and thus began a lifetime of music making. His college education was interrupted by WW II when he enlisted in the Army Air Force. He played trombone in the Army Air Force band and was stationed in India and the Philippines.

He returned to the University of Wyoming after the war where he received a degree in Music Education. Later in his career, he returned to the University of Wyoming where he completed a Master of Music Education degree. He began his career teaching music in Douglas, WY. He met and married another first year teacher, Elaine Lofgren, and they moved to Sheridan, WY where he served as band director for 35 years in the Sheridan Public Schools.

Bill retired in 1985 and continued directing the Sheridan Community Band and the Handbell Choir at the First United Methodist Church, where he was a member for 65 years. Bill was married to Elaine for 61 years. She died in 2011, and a few years later he moved to Champaign, IL to be near his son Mark and his family.

Bill received numerous awards and recognition for his community and volunteer service in both Sheridan and the state of Wyoming. He was president of the Wyoming Music Educators’ Association from 1968-1972 and treasurer of the Wyoming Retired Teachers’ Association. In 2014, he received a Sheridan Keystone Award for his community service contributions to the arts in Sheridan, including the Community Band and the Concerts in the Park series.

Bill is survived by his three sons, Ned Avery of Denver, CO, Jon Avery of Lexington, KY and Mark (Susan) Avery of Champaign, IL; three grandchildren, Katherine (Ray) Turner, Urbana, IL, Matthew (Amanda) Avery, Elmwood, IL and Joshua Avery, Tampa, FL; and four great grandchildren, Ginger, Brandon, Wesley, and Nolan Turner.

Bill's sister, Muriel Saunders, passed away in 2019.

Interment will be in the Masonic Section of the Sheridan Municipal Cemetery.

The Sheridan Press - Apr. 17, 2020.