Well, Bill finally kicked the bucket on September 8, 2026. For all of his 90-plus years, he tried to help people smile and laugh. His motto was “Healing with love and laughter.”
Bill was born in Hartford, Conn., on May 26, 1932. His parents and three siblings are all long gone now. He graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1950. Bill worked his way through the University of Miami (Florida) installing asbestos insulation and in February 1956 finally received his BS in mechanical engineering with a minor in race relations. Then he went four years at Ohio State University, studying philosophy and management. Bill married his high school girlfriend, and together they created a beautiful family consisting of Esther, Nelson, Seth, Valerie, Heather and Patrick.
Bill had various engineering positions for Owens Corning Fiberglass, Kaiser Aluminum and IBM in Ohio and Vermont.
In 1974 Bill married Jacquie Banker, and they moved to Maine. They were together for 50 years.
Bill grew up an Episcopalian, but in 1966 he became a Unitarian Universalist. He was a member of the Unitarian Church in Burlington, Vt.
When Bill was 12, his family moved to a small farm in Bloomfield, Conn., where his father gave him a pair of baby goats for a birthday present. This started his lifelong love of goats, cows and sheep. Bill and Jacquie had a 50-acre 1832-era farm in Acton, Maine, until recently. In 2021 Bill and Jacquie sold their farm in Maine and moved to St Albans, Vt.
Bill was a singer, and he also dearly loved classical music. He opened the 1992 State Democratic Convention singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Another love of Bill’s was cars. His first car (at age 13) was a 1933 Essex Terraplane coupe with a rumble seat. By age 16 and with a driver’s license, it was a 1947 Buick super convertible (yellow), which he drove during high school and college. A 1956 Cadillac Sedan DeVille was the most beautiful car he owned. A 1987 Mustang convertible (yellow) was the fastest of his cars. The 1941 Packard 160 was the most elegant. He also owned a 1953 Plymouth.
Bill loved trains — large and small. He was a volunteer host on Amtrak’s Downeaster and at the North Conway Model Railroad Museum. Bill and Jacquie had HO gauge model train layouts. For years Bill put on his red Santa suit and passed out candy canes on the Downeaster.
Bill’s father, John Lotz Jr., was a pioneering insulation contractor in New England from 1910 until 1947. His Lotz Asbestos Co. and Lotz Home Insulation Co. insulated 20,000 buildings and more steam pipes than any other contractor in the area. In 1962 Bill became the industry whistleblower, pointing out the link between asbestos and cancer.
Bill’s goal in life was to make the world a better place than when he arrived in 1932. Bill has lectured from coast to coast in the U.S and Canada on insulation and energy conservation. His 300 papers and articles on every aspect of insulation have helped contractors, engineers and architects all over the world learn how to make insulation more effective.
It was late in life when he finally met “twin sister,” Sallie Chandler. He cherished knowing Sallie and her husband, Arnold.
In 2020, Bill had a book published, Moisture Control in Building Systems and Chilled Water Pipes and Underground Pipes.
Since moving to Vermont, Bill has been welcomed with tremendous kindness by the St. Albans community. In summary, Bill loved life; he loved people, especially Jacquie; he loved animals, Democratic Party politics and his consulting work. He was a lifelong student of life and he was blessed with wonderful children.
Bill showed tremendous courage recently when he arrived at the Northwestern Medical Center Emergency Department after a fall, and he told the doctors that there would be no medical procedures performed as, “I am 94. I have lived a full life. I am going home to my dog, Sara, and my cat, Jasper.” And home to his cherished pets he went.
The family would like to thank Bayada Hospice (bayada.com); Visiting Angels (visitingangels.com); the Richford Health Center (notchvt.org); Amcare Ambulance Service (amcare.org); and all of the family members, friends, relatives and neighbors who gave Bill and Sara and Jasper tremendous love, kindness and support in his final days and allowed Bill to die at home with his beloved pets, as he wished. We will never forget each of you and will forever be indebted to you. Also, thank you to Dad’s Sunday-afternoon dominoes partner, Alex Hsieh, this last year. These games brought him a great deal of joy, and he eagerly awaited them each week.
There will be a celebration of life to be arranged and announced at a later date.
Donations in his memory can be made to any of the above organizations.
Assisting Bill’s family is the Heald Funeral Home, where messages of condolence are welcome at healdfuneralhome.com.