William Welvel Kiss, Jr.
April 18, 1936 - July 04, 2016
Obituary
STOUGHTON-William "Bill Short" Kiss, age 80, passed away peacefully at the Nazareth Health and Rehabilitation Center on Monday, July 4, 2016, with family at his side. He had struggled with Alzheimer's for several years, but it was metastatic cancer and pneumonia that took him from us. Bill was born in Wausau on April 18, 1936 to William W. and Lucille (Murphy) Kiss. He was raised in Wausau, spending many summers in Spooner, and graduated from Wausau Senior High School in 1954. He began his radio career upon graduation, and for the next 40 plus years his voice could be heard somewhere on the radio dial. Bill had a great love of sports and began officiating at the age of 12. He continued this passion for the next 64 years. Bill also enjoyed performing, and met Peggy Kennedy during rehearsals for "Teahouse of the August Moon". They were married in 1958, and had four children together. Bill rediscovered the theater again later in life and participated in many local theater groups. The role of "Christmas Past" in the Children's Theater of Madison's annual production of "A Christmas Carol" was a favorite. He was extremely proud of his time as a kicking coach on the Green Bay Packers staff of Vince Lombardi, and he was also an avid Chicago Cubs fan. When not busy with work, sports, or theater, Bill loved floating in the sun on Lake Kegonsa. He had a great love of animals and was fortunate to have the opportunity to play with tiger and bear cubs at the Henry Vilas Zoo. Bill is now with the many animals he loved that left this world before him: Lady, Teddy, Tina the tiger, and many others. His grandchildren were very special to Bill, and he took great pride and interest in their lives. He will forever be remembered for "Happy Meals and horror movies" on their "sick" days from school. He was always there when they needed him. Bill also loved flying around Wisconsin with Clyde "Coffee" Downing; annual trips to see Cubs vs. Phillies games with Lenny, Herb, and Dave; and the time he spent with Don (Scrooge) Robinson. Bill is survived by his children Terry (Boris Frank) Kiss Frank, Ken (Julie Daily) Kiss, Patrick (Bonnie) Kiss, and Laurie Kiss; the mother of his children, Peggy Kiss; grandchildren, Matthew (Heather) Weissenrieder, Jennifer (Nat) Fores, Katie Kiss, Sarah Kiss, Mariah (John) Richards and Katee Showers; great grandchildren, Maya and Ava Weissenrieder and Ethan Richards; siblings, Mary (Bill) Ridderbush, Kathy (Bob) Mohelnitzky and Jim (Wendy) Campbell; and many nieces and nephews. A Memorial Mass will be held at ST. ANN CATHOLIC CHURCH, 323 N. Van Buren St., Stoughton, at 11:30 a.m., on Saturday July 30, 2016, followed by a luncheon at 12 noon in Healy Hall at the church. During the luncheon we will pass a microphone around, and anyone who would like share a special thought or story will be encouraged to do so. We look forward to sharing memories and hearing more. We would like to thank the staff at the Nazareth Center for their wonderful care, and Agrace HospiceCare for all of their help. Bill truly embraced life and the family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Henry Vilas Zoo, Dane County Humane Society or Agrace HospiceCare. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.
Gunderson Stoughton
Funeral & Cremation Care
1358 Highway 51 N. @ Jackson
(608)873-4590
Events
Memorial Gathering
Sat Jul 30, 2016 @ 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM CDT
St. Ann Catholic Parish (Stoughton) • 323 N. Van Buren, Stoughton, WI
Photos
Memories
MM
Mike McCloskey
Other •
I'm sorry to hear of Bill's passing. I've played music for the folks at Nazareth several times and Bill would often sing along with me. I would ask Bill to tell the story to the group of when he drove Johnny Cash from Madison to Rhinelander WI for an appearance there. He always accommodated us with his memory of that. We often chatted about his Packer days. When the music hour was over, Bill would come up to me every time and say "ya'll come back now"! I will miss his presence. My condolences.
DR
Dan Ronan
Other •
I worked with Bill at WISM for 3 years when I was in college and we were friends for nearly 40 years. Bill was a wonderful person, with a huge heart and one of the greatest broadcasters I have ever worked with. He could do it all and make it look effortless. He also helped get me started as a sports official, and we spent many days on baseball diamonds calling games. Bill was respected and coaches and players always knew he was fair and knew the rules and how to apply them. I will dearly miss my friend Bill, but I know he's gone to a better place. God Bless Bill.
Sincerely,
Dan Ronan
AH
Adam Hills-Meyer
Other •
Bill and I worked together at WOLX in the early 2000s. He was kind, a fantastic storyteller and always willing to help. He loved talking about umpiring ball games and was one of the radio personalities I will never forget.
SR
Steve Rudolph
Other •
Bill was one of my favorite Madison radio personalities. I had the pleasure of working with him at WISM AM/FM when I first came to Madison. We were never what you'd call "close friends"...but we were friends. He always fun to talk with...especially about sports (and about radio in general). And I can still hear him..."And I'm Bill Short on Sports". They don't make "radio guys" like him anymore and that's a loss for all of us. I'll miss him.
JW
Janis Williams
Other •
I had the pleasure of working with Bill at CTM. He and my uncle (Don 'Scrooge' Robinson) were fast friends along with J. Patrick. He traveled with Don, me and 35 other people to England for a great time. I also made sure he had freshly baked chocolate chip cookies when he would ump the DeForest Norski baseball games. His great joy was his family. Love you, Bill
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N s
Other •
RIP Bill. Thank you for the memories. A friend from TCI Cablevision.