Obituaries: Bill Radosevich

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 him 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) and Maggie Reilly (Georgio Wright); grandchildren Ana Bernot-Reilly, Rhys Bernot-Reilly and Gianni Wright; his siblings Pete Radosevich (Tara Jordan Radosevich), Tom Radosevich, Zora Radosevich, Lisa Radosevich-Craig (John Radosevich-Craig), Stacy Radosevich (Paul Belsito), Todd Radosevich and Lorrie Janatopoulos (Sharon Chadwick); also his "second-circle children," nieces and nephews Tommy, Patrick, and Ellie Radosevich, Bhupesh Pattni (Leah Stauber), Jitesh Pattni (Kali Kay) and Reshma Pattni (Ozzie Baron), Tony, Joe and Sam Belsito; great-nieces and great-nephews; and many friends and admirers.

Bill was born in Duluth to Tony and Marg (Lubina) Radosevich and raised in Two Harbors, moving to the Twin Cities as a young man and settling in south Minneapolis.

Professionally, he was a national expert on lead poisoning, working for Niton Corporation and Thermo Fisher Scientific, and 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 the cofounder of the International Slivovitz Association and co-host of the Slivovitz tasting festival (with brothers Pete and Todd) for many years.

He became disabled in 2010 and suffered painful neurologic and cognitive complications from celiac disease until his death.

He was also an avid traveler: as a young man, he hitchhiked collecting experiences, and tales that amused us for years; in his family-kid years and then in his later years with Terre, traveling the country in his well-loved Born Free RVs.

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 1 p.m. (he insisted that we wait till it was Covid-safe) at Beard's Plaisance at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. Memorial donations for a Minnesota State Fair bench bearing his name can be made at https://gofund.me/b0f41f16. More memorial service details, photos, and remembrances are at http://www.CrescentTide.com.

Pine Knot News, March 19, 2020