Bill Radosevich

life story

Scientist, Expert-at-Large, Beloved Family Man

Bill Radosevich, 58, of south Minneapolis died at home on March 9, 2021. Bill was a brilliant, funny, kindhearted scientist whose curiosity and intellect guided through a life of fun, adventure, and accomplishment.

He was a beloved family man; he has left behind wife Terre Thomas, children Jami Reilly (Chris Woods), Adam Dash Reilly (Ash Burns), Maggie Reilly (Georgio Wright); grandchildren Ana Bernot-Reilly, Rhys Bernot-Reilly, Gianni Wright. His siblings Tom Radosevich, Zora Radosevich, Lisa Radosevich-Craig (John Craig), Stacy Radosevich (Paul Belsito), Pete Radosevich (Tara Radosevich), Todd Radosevich. Also his “second-circle” children, nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and many friends and admirers.

Bill was born in Duluth, MN and raised in Two Harbors, MN; moving to the Twin Cities as a young man and settling in south Minneapolis.

Professionally he was a national expert of lead poisoning working for Niton Corporation and Thermo Fisher Scientific, the City of Minneapolis Department of Health. Other favorite gigs included working fish in Alaska, fixing video games, and years at the State Fair Penny Arcade. He was an “Expert-at-Large”.

He was also an avid traveler; as a young man he hitchhiked collecting friends, experiences, and tales that amused and enchanted us for years. In his family-kid years and then in his later years with Terre, traveling the country in his beloved Born Free RVs. He became disabled in 2010 and suffered painful neurologic and cognitive complications from celiac disease until his death.

He was pleased and proud of his children and he had a gift for making people feel appreciated, loved and “in on the fun”. Science experiments were his lifelong pursuit, using his voluminous knowledge of scientific info (chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, computers, and more) combined with his cleverness, insatiable curiosity, and sense of humor. He was a great husband, dad, grandpa, brother, uncle, and friend.

He believed when he passed he was going to the big Library in Heaven and was confident we would all meet up there again.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 29, at 1pm (He insisted that we wait til it was Covid-safe) at Beards Plaisance at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. Memorial donations for a MN State Fair bench with his name: GoFundMe.

memorial service

Memorial Service

August 29, 2021

Beard's Plaisance 4525 Upton Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55410, USA

Preferred attire: Tie-dye

Funeral/Cremation Provider: Crescent Tide Cremation Services

Maggie's Dad Tribute

My dad was everyone’s dad. He was who you called when you had a bat fly in your house, or you needed your computer fixed for school.

He was funny and kind and most of all brilliant. Although he was smarter than all of us he never did anything but make you laugh at any of the knowledge gaps you had while filling them in. He was in fact an expert at large. I never took for granted being able to ask my dad questions and having my own personal encyclopedia.

On our last adventure his leg fell asleep as we walked by the ocean and we sat for 30 min talking about the shells at our feet.

He encouraged me to learn about every and anything so that I could teach my son when he asked me. Nothing makes me sadder than knowing my son will miss out on his relationship with his grandpa.

My papa, my best friend, my travel buddy. I thank god for Gianni because without him I feel like I’d loose myself in the loss of my dad. He was my whole heart. I’d ask him if he wanted to go on a trip with me and his response was the same every time, “Remind me the day before so I can pack.” He couldn’t keep track of days but all he needed was his back pack with me. He was the best road trip buddy. No matter how my dad was feeling he was always nice, he sparkled around my friends. With his infectious smile and witty charm.

His death is a loss for the world and he will be missed as greatly as he was loved while he was here.