Bill passed away on October 14, 2026, at the age of 89, following a long and valiant battle with dementia.

Bill was born on January 20, 1937, in Racine, WI, the oldest of six children of William and Dorothy (Dresen) Chiapete; who instilled in him a strong Catholic faith, an unwavering work ethic, and a fierce loyalty to his family.

Bill was an honors graduate of St. Catherine’s High School (Class of ’55), where he also ran track, played basketball for the legendary John McGuire, was a senior class officer, was on prom court, and where he met the love of his life, the former Pat Hinnenkamp.

Bill was a diligent worker from a young age, first working as a paper boy; and then after school and on weekends, at Pet Corners store, at Christiano’s, and at Motor Specialty.

Bill was a proud college graduate; the first in his family, earning a degree in business, after having attended Dominican College in Racine, and later Marquette University. During that time, Bill also served in the US Army Reserves for six years and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant 1st class.

After college, he was hired by General Motors/Delco Electronics, where he worked for several years. He was then employed by S.C. Johnson and Son for the majority of his career, where he held several management positions in the Finance Department. After an early retirement, Bill later contracted with the city of Racine Finance Department and with GCA.

Bill’s true love in life was his family. Bill married Pat in 1964. They were blessed with two children; Rich and Mary. There wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t do for his wife, kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, friends, or anyone in need. His favorite activity was being with his family. He loved coaching his younger twin brothers and both of his children. He never missed an extracurricular activity for his kids or for his grandkids; whether it was sports related, school related or just something that was important to them. He was each of their biggest fan and supporter. Bill was active in PTA and in his parish. He was proud to be Italian and was an active member of The Roma Lodge; working at the annual festival and at bingo.

In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his beloved daughter, Mary Odders, by his brother, Ron Chiapete, by his sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Nick Krahn, and by his closest friends, Tony Ferraro and Al Olsen.

He leaves behind to cherish his memory his wife of 62 years, Pat (Hinnenkamp) Chiapete; his son, Rich (Jenni) Chiapete; his grandchildren, Allison (Justin) Hannemann, Anna (Bendt) Bendtsen, Abbie (fiance’ Aidan Kamschulte), and Jack (Claire Krause) Chiapete; his great grandchildren, Sydney Hannemann, Etta Bendtsen, Myles Hannemann, and Halle Bendtsen; his son-in-law, Brian Odders; his brothers, Rick (Linda) Chiapete, Randy (Pat) Chiapete, and Tom Chiapete; his sister-in-laws, Jonna Chiapete and Kris Chiapete; and countless nieces and nephews.

Family and friends are invited to meet in the Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home and Crematory on Saturday, OCTOBER 24, 2026, for a visitation from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM. A service celebrating his life will follow at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial contribution to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.