William "Bill" Israel

William Everett (Bill) Israel, a devoted husband, father, dedicated genealogist, ukulele aficionado, and esteemed community leader, passed away on March 15, 2026. Born on August 7, 1934, in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in Lenoir, North Carolina, Bill’s life was marked by a profound commitment to family and service.

Bill graduated from Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, in 1952. In 1956, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Georgia Tech, where he was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. From 1956-58, Bill served in the Army, stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. He began his post-Army career in Chicago, Illinois, where he met his spouse of 66 years, Sally Ullman Israel.

Wanting to avoid Chicago winters and return to his southern roots, Bill and Sally moved to Atlanta, GA, and a few years later, in 1968, they (along with daughter Sharon) settled in St. Petersburg, FL. While in Atlanta, Bill ventured into his own business – Motorsport – selling, leasing, and working on motorcycles and scooters. Bill spent the majority of his professional career in the aerospace and defense industry, primarily with Honeywell, in Clearwater, FL, where he held roles in industrial engineering and management. Bill was very much a renaissance man with a thirst for knowledge and genuine curiosity and intuition for how things worked. If you wanted to know something on most any topic from science and engineering to world news and politics, Bill had an answer with a reasoned explanation. In 1994, Bill retired after 26 years at Honeywell, leaving a lasting legacy in the industrial engineering field.

After retirement, Bill kept busier than most who work fulltime. He lived life to its fullest, commenting that he didn’t know how he had time to work before he retired. His interests included stringed instruments (especially ukuleles), cars, Apple products, technology and gadgets of all sorts, computerized investing, politics, dogs (especially Spitzes), traveling, and civic organizations. Bill also was a foodie and never forgot a dining experience. One of his passions was genealogy – and he went all in on researching family history for himself, Sally’s family, and he often helped others with their research. He meticulously traced his Jewish ancestry, documenting nearly 5,000 relatives and spanning generations across hundreds of years. As the unofficial historian of the Israel family since 1980, he played a crucial role in organizing many family reunions and publishing a comprehensive family history. Bill was a founding member and past president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay, and he actively served on the boards of various Jewish genealogical organizations. His research journeys took him and his family to Eastern Europe, fostering a profound connection to their ancestral heritage.

Bill’s commitment to community extended far beyond genealogy. He was a founding Vice President of Temple Hillel in Pinellas County and served on the board and as President of the Brotherhood of Temple Beth-El in St. Petersburg, Florida. For 36 years, he was a devoted board member of Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services (GCJFCS), where he held leadership roles including Vice President and Treasurer. In recognition of their longstanding commitment, Bill and his wife, Sally, were honored in 2021 as Tampa Bay Lightning Community Heroes, receiving a grant from the Lightning Foundation to support GCJFCS, where the agency’s food pantry (William and Sally Israel Food Pantry), serving more than 2,500 people annually, was named in their honor.

Bill’s personal life was enriched by his marriage to Sally, with whom he shared a partnership filled with love and dedication to each other and their community. Bill was often the ringleader for activities among his many circles of friends – organizing dinner and theater outings, gatherings over Zoom, and AEPi reunions. Never a shrinking violet, he was usually the last one to leave a party. He was known to pull out a uke and start playing at any occasion – whether requested or not! Bill also had a sharp wit and a terrific sense of humor.

He is survived by wife Sally and daughter Sharon. Bill also leaves behind a cherished extended family including niece Ellen Corenswet and her husband John Morgan, niece Lucy Corenswet, nephew Dan Appel, niece Pamela Laffer and her husband Stephen, niece Holly Berman, nephew Scott Ullman and his wife Muriel, as well as many great nieces, nephews, great-great nieces and nephews, along with numerous cousins and friends who were close to his heart.

Bill was preceded in death by his beloved parents, Oscar and Miriam Israel; his sister Renette Corenswet and brother-in-law Abe Corenswet; nephew Robert Corenswet, brother and sister-in-law Milton and June Ullman, nephew Norman Berman, and niece Annie Appel. He was also preceded in death by beloved pets, including Spitzes Pat, Fluffy, Mark, and Mitzi, all of whom he’s hoping to meet at the rainbow bridge.

When asked how he was doing, Bill typically responded, “I’m almost perfect.” For all whom he touched, he perfected “almost perfection.” 

A funeral service to honor Bill Israel’s remarkable life will be held on March 20, 2026, at 12:00 pm at Temple Beth-El, located at 400 Pasadena Ave South, St. Petersburg, Florida. Burial will follow at Royal Palm Cemetery, 101 55th Street South.

Livestream links will be posted prior to the service.

Click Bill's beloved charities below or an organization of your choice to donate tzedakah in his memory:

Condolences for the family can be left in the guestbook below.

Heritage Funeral Care, David and Steven Gross Directors, Largo Florida are serving the family.