Obituary of William C Severance

William (Bill) C. Severance Endicott, NY William (Bill) C. Severance, 53, of Endicott, NY, devoted husband, father, brother and friend, after courageously winning his battle with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, passed away on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY due to complications following a stem cell transplant. He was predeceased by his parents, Clyde and Rosemary (Bellrose) Severance, Massena, NY and his sister Connie. Bill is survived by his wife of 30 years, Ilene (Raymo) Severance; his children, Brian, Kelly and Kyle, all of Endicott, NY; his brother, Bob Severance of Massena, NY; many nieces and nephews and his beloved beagle, Holly. Bill was born January 25, 1960 in Massena, NY. He was a 1978 graduate of Massena Central High School and a 1982 graduate of SUNY Potsdam earning a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Economics. In 1997, he received his Master's Degree in Computer Engineering from National Technological Institute, Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1982, after marrying his high school sweetheart, Ilene, Bill began his career as a computer programmer at IBM in Gaithersburg, MD. He transferred to Owego, NY in 1984 and continued his career at Lockheed Martin, most recently as a manager and then software engineer. Bill had a challenging and exciting career and worked on a number of high profile programs, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Space Shuttle program, the Presidential helicopter, the Apache Longbow helicopter, and the B2 bomber. A highlight of his career came in 1993 when Bill was recognized and honored by the NASA astronauts with a Silver Snoopy award. This is the highest honor given by NASA to a non-astronaut in appreciation for professionalism, dedication and outstanding support that greatly enhanced space flight safety and mission success. Bill was a communicant of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Endicott, NY. He was an avid sports fan and player, enjoying golf, tennis, basketball and baseball. He was a CYO basketball coach at OLGC for more than 20 years. He loved the Yankees, the Cowboys and Duke University basketball and was inspired by the coaching philosophy of Mike Krzyzewski. Bill also coached youth baseball for West Corners Little League and assisted with the Endicott Teener League. He found great joy and pride in watching his youngest son, Kyle play soccer and he was one of the greatest fans and supporters of the Cazenovia College Men's Soccer Team. Bill found great happiness in the smooth ride of his beautiful Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide. He was a member and historian of the Binghamton Harley Owners Group. He thoroughly enjoyed his motorcycle trips to Key West, Milwaukee and Daytona Beach with his brother and friends. We want to acknowledge with deep appreciation and heartfelt thanks the many prayers, positive thoughts and encouragement expressed to us during Bill's stem cell transplant and the challenging days which followed. You brought light and hope into our lives and we couldn't have gone through this journey without all of you. Calling hours will be from 2 - 5 PM on Sunday, March 10 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 701 W. Main Street, Endicott, NY. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 AM on Monday, March 11 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Kevin Guest House, 782 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203 or The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 310, White Plains, ny 10605. Live strong Boss! We love you. Arrangements by Coleman & Daniels Funeral Home, Inc