William M. "Bill" Epperheimer

William M. "Bill" Epperheimer

Mount Pleasant

William M. (Bill) Epperheimer, 86, former publisher of the Mt. Pleasant News 1972-1984, died of cancer Aug. 8, 2023, at the Brookdale Dementia Care facility in Overland Park, Kan.

He had battled cancer and dementia for the past year, becoming a beloved patient at Brookdale but able to say a series of goodbyes to families and friends in recent months, while still enjoying his allowed once-weekly martini.

He was passionate about his family and Kansas City, Kan. Funny and opinionated and sometimes quick to express his frustration, he was outspoken and acknowledged as the family patriarch. “He was a loving curmudgeon,” one nephew said.

He had been passionate about golf while he was still able to play and was a dedicated fan of Kansas City Chiefs football and University of Kansas basketball (to the chagrin of his youngest son, a Kansas State grad). He was a decades-long faithful reader of The New Yorker. He was known to frequently lament the current state of the newspaper industry. One argued grammar, punctuation and spelling with him at your peril.

He and his sons were ardent St. Louis Cardinals football fans until the team left for Arizona, spending many Sunday afternoons yelling at the TV with his sons before playing ball in the beaten-up backyard afterward. The family also attended numerous St. Louis Cardinals baseball games while living in Iowa.

Mr. Epperheimer was a newspaper editor and publisher most of his working life before becoming president/CEO of the Wyandotte Health Foundation in 1998. He retired from that post in 2014.

He was active in Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., civic affairs, heading the Chamber of Commerce and the Congressional Forum.

The son of a newspaper printer, Mr. Epperheimer worked for 40 years in newspapers and journalism education, becoming a mentor to his brother and son, who followed him and his father into the business. After his graduation from Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale, Ill., in 1958, he worked for newspapers in Illinois and New York before joining the University of Florida staff and later became publications manager and lecturer in the SIU Department of Journalism.

In 1972, he became publisher of the daily newspaper in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, beginning a 25-year association with Inland Industries of Lenexa, Kan. In 1984 he became publisher of The Kansan in KCK, where he remained until the paper was sold in 1998. In subsequent years, The Kansan ceased publication.

Mr. Epperheimer is survived by his wife of 20 years, Loretta Colombel; three sons, Bill (Glenda), Joe (Beth) and Tim (Ann); two stepsons, Keith (Jeanette) and Mark; 13 grandchildren, including five with Mrs. Colombel; a sister, Beth Barger of Harrisburg, Ill.; a brother, John Epperheimer of San Jose, Calif.; numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews; and his first wife, Barbara Epperheimer. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Marian.

A memorial service will be at 3 PM Sept. 9 at Porter Funeral Home, 1835 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan. 66102. A celebration of life will follow at Corkhouse, 509 Armstrong Ave., Kansas City, Kan. 66101.

The family will be forever grateful for the care he received at Brookdale. Memorial contributions may be made to Bill Epperheimer Memorial Fund, Brookdale Dementia Center, 12000 Lamar Ave., Overland Park, KS 66209.

Alternatively, memorial contributions may be made to the KU Cancer Center, via KU Endowment, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Mail Stop 3012, Kansas City, KS 66160, to benefit cancer research. Online contributions may be made at www.kuendowment.org/give. Please indicate that donations are for the Bill Epperheimer memorial.