William 'Bill' F. Schlagbaum

DELPHOS - William (Bill) F. Schlagbaum, 89, of Delphos passed away peacefully in the afternoon on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 at Vancrest of Delphos.

He was born on October 5, 1936 in Ottoville to Walter and Genevieve (Hempfling) Schlagbaum, who both preceded him in death. He is the 2nd of 6 children. On July 4, 1957, he married the love of his life, LaDonna (Miller) Schlagbaum, who survives in Delphos. They recently celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary.

William is survived by four children, Lisa (Mike) Suever of Delphos, Greg Schlagbaum (Carl Ciardelli) of Columbus, Lynette Brinkman of Delphos, and Leane (Dan) Geise of Delphos; 8 grandchildren, Michael (Kate) Suever, Kacia (Tim) Donnellon, Marissa (Brad) Trentman, Dylan Brinkman, Lauren (Brian) Wueller, Tiffany (Ty) Bergfeld, Curtis (Taylor) Geise, and Jessica (Owen) Rode; 12 great-grandchildren, with number 13 on the way; siblings, Martha Fischbach of Ottoville, Norma Hilvers of West Virginia, Ann Beining of Ottoville; sister-in-law Cynthia Schlagbaum of Denver, Colorado and brother-in-law, Dave Honigford of Indian Lake, close cousin, Irene Murray. He is survived by brothers-in-law Ralph Miller, Donald “Doc” Miller, Art Miller and sister-in-law, Dolly Mesker. William is also survived by many nieces and nephews in which he thoroughly enjoyed.

He was preceded in death by a brother, Paul Schlagbaum and a sister, Diane Honigford. He was preceded in death by brothers-in-law, Jerry Fischbach, Paul Hilvers and Paul Beining. He was also preceded in death by many “Miller” brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

William was a 1954 graduate of Ottoville High School. Bill worked on his dad’s milk route and family farm. He then proudly served in the United States Army from January of 1955 to January of 1957. After the service, he continued to work on the family farm and worked at the United Telephone Company, then was hired at Sprint, working there for several years prior to his retirement. He was a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Bill enjoyed many sports. In high school, he loved baseball and basketball. He even tried out for the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians). Bill thoroughly enjoyed skiing in Colorado with his brother and friends. Tennis, fishing and hunting were activities he loved. He spent hours in his workshop doing woodworking. Bill enjoyed playing cards with family and friends. In his later years, William found great joy keeping up with sport related news, especially local sports that his grandchildren and great-grandchildren participated in.

A Funeral Mass will begin at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Burial will follow in St. John’s Cemetery with graveside Military Rites conducted by the Delphos Veterans Council.

Visitation will be from 3:00-7:00pm Monday, July 27, 2026 at Weber Funeral Home, 1840 E. Fifth St., Delphos, where a Parish Wake Service will be held at 7:00 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Delphos St. John’s Parish Foundation. The full obituary and online condolences may be shared at www.weberfh.net.