William Robert Buecking

William “Bill” Robert Buecking was born on June 28, 1934, at Jackson Park Hospital to William Oscar Buecking and Louise B. Kautz. After spending his first years in Chicago, Bill’s family, now including younger brother, Ron, moved to Hollywood, Illinois, near Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo. He graduated from Riverside Brookfield High School in 1952 and was the first in his family to attend college at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana. It was here that Bill learned to balance his love of golf with the rigors of the classroom and went on to graduate with a degree in accounting, all while working his way through school.

Following two years as an accountant with the United States Army where he was stationed in Munich, Germany, he earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Northwestern University in 1961. He then embarked upon a very successful career in the financial services industry first at the Securities and Exchange Commission, then at North American Life Insurance Company, followed by two decades with Kemper Financial Services, all in downtown Chicago.

Still a bachelor in his early 30’s, things quickly changed when he met Diana Kramp, an elementary school teacher in Hinsdale. They were married in 1966 and spent the next few years enjoying Chicago life in a downtown high-rise before moving to Barrington in 1969 where they welcomed their first son, Steve. While many families move to the suburbs for the schools and a slower pace of life, that was only part of the equation for Bill who discovered a country club that he could afford—that definitely cemented the deal. Three years later, they were overjoyed to welcome their second son, Alex.

The next two decades were busy and active, with Bill focused on growing his flourishing career, enjoying his energetic and sometime mischievous boys, and seeing the world with his wife with adventures in England, Spain, Greece, and Switzerland. Both Steve and Alex were avid golfers, and father and sons spent many, many happy hours together at Biltmore Country Club working on their games.

Bill retired from Kemper in 1993 and lived his “golden” years to the fullest. There were relaxed, humid evenings at Florida’s PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens with a Manhattan in hand and a beloved Vizsla by his side. There were fantastic powder days in Beaver Creek, Colorado, where he skied on an annual basis until he was 80. Festive 4th of Julys, Thanksgivings, and Christmases in Barrington with his wife and sons, and eventually their wives and grandchildren. And always, there was golf, his passion for which led him to serve on the Board of Governors with the Chicago District Golf Association and as a Rules Official with the US Golf Association—both of which brought him immense pride.

If grief is the price for love, then Bill’s family will forever miss and remember his kind and extremely generous heart, his quiet and comforting presence, his genuine interest in the lives of others, his deep, throaty laugh, and his loyal and steadfast devotion to those most important to him, especially his dear wife of 59 years. He is survived by his wife Diana, sons Steve and Alex, daughters-in-law Mindy and Jennifer, grandchildren Harrison, Karen, and Ethan, sister-in-law Avis, and nieces Diane and Pam. He was preceded in death by his brother, Ron. God speed, Bill.