William "Bill" Dawson

Livestream link for service at Tribucast William "Bill" Dawson age 64 died on September 11, 2020 at his home in Waukegan, IL. Bill fought a brave battle with esophageal cancer since his diagnosis in July 2019. Bill was born August 31, 1956 in Grand Rapids, MI the son of Chuck and Pat (Mysliwiec) Dawson. He was a 1974 graduate of West Catholic High School and graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1978. He moved to Illinois where he taught math and coached cross country and track. He was at North Chicago High School for four years and at Stevenson for three years. He found his “forever” position at Warren Township High School. Bill was a talented math teacher at Warren for over 35 years. His passion was being the cross-country coach for the last 34 years and the track coach for the last 27 years. He was inducted into the Lake County Hall of Fame in 2016. He was credited not only for his many state champions but also for hundreds of Academic All-American Athletes. So many of his runners went on to compete at the college level. Bill’s greatest strength was his passion for young people and for being an outstanding role model for his student athletes and young coaches. Bill enjoyed cooking and baking, often preparing meals for the math department (some a bit spicy). He thrived on gardening and flowers, photography and piling up miles on his bike. He is even credited with helping his nieces pass math by taking their nightly phone calls. Surviving are his mother, Pat; brothers, Tim (Lori), Tom (Kelly), Mike (Margaret); uncle Jay (Mary) Mysliwiec; many nieces, nephews, cousins; honorary fifth Dawson son and cousin Jim Mysliwiec who was a source of prayerful support during Bill’s illness; Jason Jecman, Bill’s best friend and long-time assistant coach; many friends and colleagues, alumni, parents and athletes at Warren; wife, Tami; children, Joshua and Sydni. He was preceded in death by his father, Chuck; sister, Mary and many aunts and uncles. The family will greet friends 3:00 pm Saturday, October 17 at Bliss-Witters & Pike Funeral Home, 13603 Northland Dr. Cedar Springs where a service of remembrance will be held at 4:00 pm. Memorial contributions may be made to Warren Twp. Boys Cross Country Team. WTHS Athletic Dept., 34090 Almond Rd., Gurnee IL 60031.