William J. Vorwald, 97, of Zionsville formerly of Valparaiso passed away Peacefully at home on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. He was born July 17, 1925, to Casper & Hannah (Nebe) Vorwald, graduated from Lew Wallace High School in 1943, received a B.S. in Education from Purdue University, master’s degree from Northwestern University, and did post-graduate studies at Indiana University in School Administration. His career took him from East Gary and Lew Wallace High Schools (Gary) as a Science and Math teacher to Roosevelt and Horace Mann High Schools (Gary) as an Assistant Principal, Lew Wallace High School (Gary) as Principal, and finally to Thomas Jefferson Jr./Middle School in Valparaiso as Principal from 1969 -87. William served proudly with the U.S. Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet during WW II. Longtime membership with the Valparaiso Kiwanis Club saw him serve as President and Lt. Governor and initiated the founding of the Club’s annual Veteran’s Day recognition ceremony. Bill was an honorable and patriotic man who believed in giving back to his community, allowing everyone to have a fair chance at opportunity, and embracing new ideas based on merit. However, he did hold on to his old school habits which included a slide rule and number 2 pencils.
On September 6, 1947, he married his high school sweetheart, Thelma Shipman who survives along with their children; Janet Dohner (John) of Michigan, Joanne Whisler (Ron) of Wisconsin, Dr. Mary Jean Vorwald-Schlegel (Rick Schlegel) of Zionsville, Robert Wm. Vorwald (Jody) of Utah, nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his sister, Margaret Hoffman, and brothers, Henry & James Vorwald.
A visitation will be held Friday, July 7th from 5 – 7 pm at Moeller Funeral Home, Valparaiso, and Saturday from 9 – 10 am. The funeral service will begin at 10:00 am Saturday with burial and military honors at Calumet Park Cemetery, Merrillville. Memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or the Autism Awareness Project. Click here to watch the recorded funeral service and video tribute.
GUESTBOOK
I'm Alexa Olling's daughter - Christine Olling Martel. Just got back into town and saw the obituary. Mom taught at T.J. and spoke highly of Bill Vorwald. Please accept my condolences at this difficult time. -Christine Olling Martel
