William (Bill, aka Mr. Bill) Douglas Silvius, 75, passed away peacefully in Great Falls on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, after his battle with cancer.

Bill was born August 19, 1944, in Fort Benton, MT to William Alexander Silvius and Mae Hove Silvius.  His sister, Ruth, was born 1 year later, in 1945.  Bill & Ruth's parents owned and ran the Chouteau House Bar & Hotel in Fort Benton and they lived at the Chouteau House for a good portion of their adolescence.  Bill graduated from Fort Benton High School in 1962.

Bill went on to college at Montana State University and received his Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education in 1967.   After graduating college, his first teaching job was at Cascade High School, where he was the Math Teacher, Head Track Coach and Assistant Football Coach from 1967 – 1968.   He then moved on to Power High School, again as the Math Teach and Assistant Football Coach and stayed until 1970.

Bill had a short run at Glasgow Jr High (1970-1971), before he found his "forever" job at Geraldine High School in 1971.  He worked at Geraldine High School for 46 years before retiring in 2017.  Over his tenure he took on several roles, most notably, Math Teacher, but also Athletic Director, Assistant Football Coach, Assistant Track Coach, and Counselor.  During his teaching career, Bill ran the Chouteau House Bar for several years in the late 70's and 80's before selling it prior to his mother's death in 1990.  Additionally, in 1992, Bill received his Master's Degree in K-12 Counseling from Montana State University – Northern.

Mr. Bill was a strong, sarcastic, sometimes intimidating, and always consistent presence in the halls of Geraldine High School.  He was known for his "Dept of Redundancy Dept" Board in his classroom, where he made sure to point out the oddities of the world as well as the questionable, mostly comical, comments from his students.  He would always say that over the years about 1/3 of his students liked him, 1/3 didn't like him, and 1/3 didn't care one way or another.

Bill married Ruth (Bope) Davison, now Kulbeck, from Highwood, in 1970.  They had two children together; Tera, born in 1973 and Derek, born in 1976.  They were divorced in 1983, and in 1986, Bill married Mary Wishman and inherited two step children, Pam and Dennis Wishman.  Bill and Mary were married happily and loyally for 30 years until Mary's passing in 2017.  Grampa Bill has 9 grandchildren, Kayla Sande (Derek), Heather Wishman, Logan Taylor, Landon Taylor, Kane Morton, Sydney Morton, Samantha Morton, Billy Silvius, and Brice Silvius.  Although many students and even his own children at times thought he was "intimidating", the grandkids only new him as a loving and fun Grampa that took them for rides on his lawnmower and side by side.

This is an understatement, but Bill loved sports!  His favorite past time was attending the sporting events of his children and grandchildren.  When his children were growing up, he attended ALL of their sporting events.  Even though they went to school in Big Sandy, he attended every home and away game no matter what distance he had to travel.  He was also a diehard Montana State Bobcat Football fan.  He would watch either in person or on TV any chance he could get and reveled in beating the "Snivvlies".  He spent endless hours in the bleachers for football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, and track and would not choose to be anywhere else.

Bill was a man of few words, but the words he did say were forthright and honest.  He didn't have any pretenses about himself or his feelings, everyone knew that if he said something, he meant it and there was usually no convincing him otherwise.  Those who loved him appreciated the way he handled himself; speaking his mind, but not meddling; being comically sarcastic, but not dishonest; and being strict, but always showing his love through his actions.  He was respected and loved by his peers, spouse, children and grandchildren and will forever be missed.

Bill is survived by his sister Ruth Silvius Dobson of Beaverton, OR, daughter Tera Silvius Morton (Victor) of Hayward, CA, son Derek Silvius (Sabrina) of Great Falls, step-daughter Pam Wishman Mann (Jason) of Fort Benton, step-son Dennis Wishman (Jan) of Geraldine, nephew, Alex Dobson (Malinda) of Portland, OR and 9 grandchildren.

Bill was preceded in death by his father William Alexander Silvius, mother Mae Hove Silvius, and wife Mary Silvius.

A memorial service will be held on June 25 ^th , at 2pm at Geraldine High School.  Benton Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements. Visit Bill's online memorial page at www.bentonfh.com to leave a message of condolence for the family.