Rapid City - William "Bill" Leade Spitzer, surrounded by his family, passed away in his Rapid City, South Dakota home on September 15, 2014 ending a long battle with cancer and congestive heart failure. Bill was born in Ashley, North Dakota on August 10, 1937. He was the oldest son of Leo and Alice Spitzer. The family lived in Oakes, North Dakota where Bill graduated from high school. After high school, Bill served in the Army before attending Brown Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota and marrying his high school sweetheart, Jean Marilyn Werner in 1960.Bill and Jean eventually settled down in Rapid City where they raised three children. Bill wore many hats over the course of his 77 years of life. Some of you may remember his early years in radio at KKLS when he was known as "Uncle Bill" to his listeners. Remember the "Ugly Truck" contest? When the Rapid City flood of 1972 wiped out the radio station, Bill and some of his colleagues trudged through the muddy studios retrieving the necessary equipment needed to get the station running again. They actually set up a temporary radio station in the basement of Bill and Jean's home. The crew worked many long hours around the clock to keep the local public as well as the nation informed during this tragedy. Bill continued his career in radio and television as a broadcast engineer and consultant throughout the remainder of his life. Some of the things that Bill held close to his heart were coaching his son and grandson in baseball, attending the various activities his children and grandchildren were involved in, the family reunions and gatherings where Jean's incredible cooking was always the main event, and time spent at the lake home near Gettysburg with the family or with his many hunting buddies. Everyone who knew Bill, knew how much he loved his dogs! Bill was a highly respected handler and trainer of Labrador Retrievers not only in South Dakota, but also in several surrounding states. He ran his beloved labs in numerous HRC competitions for many years and eventually stepped into judging and setting up some of these events. He spent hundreds of hours over the course of many years sharing his wealth of knowledge within this arena with anyone who wanted to learn. In his later years, Bill was an avid blogger and spent hours online sharing his political opinions, humorous anecdotes, and inspirational messages with others. Bill had a solid faith in Christ which he held fast to until the very end of his journey here. Bill was a man characterized as a thankful human being. He always recognized and appreciated the good things in his life, no matter how simple those things may have been. Whether staying up all night with a good book in hand, eating a great meal, or talking with a dear friend on the phone, Bill was thankful and expressed this often. To his dear friends, Bill's family wishes to convey their deepest gratitude for all of your visits, phone calls, emails, and cards during the course of his illness. You will never know how much your love, prayers and friendship enriched Bill's life. God Bless You All and Thank You! Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his granddaughter, Kelsey, and several of his canine companions. Bill is survived by his wife, Jean Spitzer, Rapid City, SD, son Derek Spitzer (Pamella) Salt Lake City, UT daughter Cara VanBerkum(Roy ) Rapid City, SD, son Jason Spitzer(Lacy) Roseville, CA. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Samuel Black (Jessica), Molly Godfrey (Clint), Michael Black, Stephen Black, Matilda VanBerkum, Sydney Spitzer, Riley Spitzer, Grahm Spitzer. Finally those great-grandchildren: Mercy Godfrey, Laynee Godfrey, Ace Godfrey, Joey Black , Liberty Black. Bill is survived, as well by his brother Robert Spitzer (Jane) CO. An informal memorial service will be held Saturday, October 11, 2014 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rimrock Exchange located at 514 St. Joseph St. Downtown Rapid City.