Professor Emeritus Dr. William F. Schmeltz, 89, of Bowling Green, Ohio passed away, Friday, April 11,
2014.
Bill was a loving husband and devoted and cherished father who raised four children, who then had twelve
grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. He spent his life dedicated to education and the accounting
field. He spent 30 years at BGSU as an accounting professor, a department chairman and Dean of the
College of Business Administration, and retired as a Trustee Professor Emeritus. He obtained his
Doctorate at Case Western Reserve. During his retirement a professorship was established in his name at
BGSU to further excellence in the field of accounting education.
He was a worldwide traveler and among his travels he had extended stays in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Sweden,
Austria and China. In Puerto Rico he created and received accreditation for the MBA Program at the
University there. In Sweden he was selected as one of thirty Deans of Business to spend three weeks in
the Meet Modern Sweden Program. He was selected as part of a group of investment specialists to travel
through China for 3 weeks meeting with bankers and investment professionals to further stimulate
investment opportunities in China during the 1980s.
After retirement from BGSU he taught for Southern Illinois University in an Air Force Program for
officers to receive their MBA travelling to Air Force bases around the country. Over the years he served
as a mentor to many people at home and abroad.
Before coming to BGSU he was raised in south Toledo, went to college and got his undergraduate degree at
The University of Toledo, and served at the end of World War II in the Pacific. After being Honorably
Discharged from the Navy, Bill was accepted to Harvard’s MBA Program at the age of twenty-one. Bill went
on to become a CPA as his father before him, and created a CPA partnership with his daughter Janet who
has now continued the practice with her CPA daughter Ashly, thereby beginning the fourth generation of
CPAs. He was elected President of the Ohio Chapter of CPAs.
He was a professor who brought real world practical experience to the classroom setting, offering case
studies based on his own personal experience as a machine shop owner and business consultant. According
to former student Tim Ross of Chapel Hill, NC, "Dr. Schmeltz was an extraordinarily talented
faculty member who had a passion for business that was contagious and inspiring to his students. He
artfully encouraged and challenged his students to strive for excellence and deeply impacted many lives
by getting students excited about business and accounting."
Bill was active in several organizations, including The Financial Executive Institute, Junto and the
National Association of Investment Clubs who awarded him the Distinguished Service Award in Investment
Education.
William was born on November 30, 1924 in Toledo, Ohio to the late William H. and Augusta (Dicke)
Schmeltz.
He married Peggy (Hurrelbrink) Schmeltz on January 24, 1948 in the Epiphany Lutheran Church in Toledo,
Ohio and she survives in Bowling Green, Ohio. Along with his wife Peggy, William is survived by his son:

Randolph G. (Jessie) Schmeltz, of Bowling Green, Ohio; daughters:
Catherine A. Schmeltz, (Jim Lucas) of Columbus, Ohio; Dr. Christine D. (Dan) Ellis, of Sylvania, Ohio;
Janet A. (Dennis) Bower, of Bowling Green, Ohio; 12 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren; a
half-brother: Gerald (Betty) Calkins, of Bloomington, Indiana; and a host of nieces and nephews. Along
with his parents, William was preceded in death by his sister Doris (Dallas) Hall and brother Robert
(Lucille) Schmeltz.
Visitation for Dr. Schmeltz will be on Sunday April 13, 2014 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM in the DECK-HANNEMAN
FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY, 1460 W. Wooster St., Bowling Green, Ohio 43402. Funeral Services for
Dr. Schmeltz will be held on Monday April 14, 2014 at 11:00AM in the DECK-HANNEMAN FUNERAL HOME
REMEMBRANCE CHAPEL.
A Luncheon will follow in the Remembrance Banquet Hall of the Funeral Home immediately following the
service. Interment will be private for family at Toledo Memorial Park.
Memorial Contributions may be gifted in Dr. Schmeltz’s honor to the William F. Schmeltz Professorship
through The Bowling Green State University Foundation or to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Bowling Green,
Ohio.
On-line condolences, as well as fond memories, may be shared with Dr. Schmeltz’s family by visiting
www.hannemanfh.com.
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