Obituary for William Frederick Anhut
With his beloved Irish running the clock down during its October 23rd win over USC, and his family surrounding him in victory formation, William Frederick Anhut, age 92, longtime resident of Ypsilanti, Michigan, peacefully took a knee.
Bill’s was an amazing and accomplished life - punctuated by love of family, unwavering religious devotion, careers in the hotel industry and law, and an inexhaustible commitment to Ypsilanti and greater Washtenaw County business development, and to religious and philanthropic communities. Whether running the Huron Motor Inn or practicing law, he always found time to engage in his community, serving on numerous boards, fund-raising campaigns and charitable efforts, all the while partnering with his beloved wife of 70 years, Mary Claire (Dwyer) Anhut, as they raised their nine children. An exemplary model of family nurture, of community service and of faith-filled living, Bill was respected and admired by everyone with whom he had contact, and wholly adored by his family. He will be dearly missed.
Bill was blessed with a wide range of talents and the grace to share them selflessly, whether as an accomplished lawyer and community leader or as a prankster clown roving the Ypsilanti Fourth of July parade. He and Mary Claire enjoyed years of adventures and travels with many close friends and family. He enjoyed tennis with the BIG BOYS ("Boy I’m Good But Oh You Stink"), golf with the guys and daily coffee with his posse of local and world problem solvers.
Bill was born August 2, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan, the seventh and youngest child of John Nicholson Anhut and Elizabeth Bouvier Walsh Anhut. He was a graduate of Florida Military Academy in 1947, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame in 1951 (where he was elected student council president) and of the University of Michigan Law School in 1956. He also served honorably in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1953.
Bill’s professional career began in the family hotel and restaurant business in Detroit and Farmington Hills, during which time he was President of the Detroit Hotel Association, as well as President of the International Hotel Greeters of America. He continued his career in Ypsilanti when he and Mary Claire purchased the Huron Hotel in 1963, which they ran as the Huron Motor Inn until 1970. After the sale of the hotel, Bill practiced law with life-long friends to be, Ellis Freatman and John Barr. During his law career, he served the Washtenaw County Bar Association as President, and the Michigan State Bar for nine years as a member of the Board of Directors.
Bill served local communities in many ways throughout his lifetime, as Chairman of the St. Francis Educational Trust Fund, and as its initial fundraising chairman; as an active 12-year member of the Board of Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels; as President of the Forum Club; as President of Fr. Gabriel Richard High School Board of Education; as President of the Ypsilanti Area Industrial Development Corporation; as President and active member of the Ypsilanti Rotary Club; as member of the Washtenaw County Economic Development Council; as a 14-year member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Social Services; as a seven-year member of the Ypsilanti Urban Renewal Commission; as President of the Ypsilanti Little League (when he, along with other community leaders, in 1973, led the effort to extend league eligibility to Carolyn King, and young girls across the country). He and Mary Claire were recognized for their community involvement when the Chamber of Commerce awarded them the Distinguished Service Award in 1989.
As a devout Catholic and a loyal son of Notre Dame, Bill and Mary Claire were recognized by the University with an Exempla Award, and were named to Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard High School’s Hall of Fame. Together, they provided all nine of their children with Catholic primary, secondary and college educations. Bill was a Eucharistic Minister, Commentator and Lector at St. John the Baptist and St. Francis of Assisi Churches.
Bill is survived by his loving wife, Mary Claire Dwyer Anhut and by their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren: William F. Anhut Jr., (Dale), and children William F. Anhut III (Tonya) and Jacqueline; Amy Anhut Hadley (Gene) and son Clark; Charles Robert Anhut (Cathy) and children Nicholas (Erin), Erin (Kevin) and Kevin (Meredith); Jill Anhut Epstein (Todd) and daughter Anna; Thomas John Anhut (Theresa) and children Colin, Devan (Michael) and Haley; Jeffrey Clark Anhut (Maria) and children Michael and Natalie; Matthew Dwyer Anhut and children Jackson and Greta Grace; Christopher Walsh Anhut (Holly) and children Hope, Winn and Elle; and son-in-law, Kit Hollingshead and children Petra, Eris and Kelly Hyatt (Ron).
He was predeceased by his daughter-in-law, Chrissy Simbro Anhut; daughter, Frances Marie Anhut, and son-in-law, James Hyatt; his parents, John and Elizabeth Anhut; brothers, John Anhut, Charles Anhut; and sisters, Mary Elizabeth Patterson, Jacqueline Johnson, Justine McKnight and Louise Eichenlaub.
A visitation will take place Friday, October 29, 2021 from 4-8 pm with a Scripture Service at 7 pm at Nie Family Funeral Home - Carpenter Road Location, 2400 Carpenter Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48108. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 10 am with visitation beforehand at 9:30 am at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 2250 E. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. The funeral mass will be livestreamed, available through the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church YouTube channel.
Memorial contributions may be made in Bill's honor to Fr. Gabriel Richard High School Scholarship Fund (4333 Whitehall Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48105); St. Francis of Assisi Parish Building Fund (2250 E. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48104) or the Ypsilanti Historical Museum (220 N. Huron St., Ypsilanti, MI 48197).
Bill’s was an amazing and accomplished life - punctuated by love of family, unwavering religious devotion, careers in the hotel industry and law, and an inexhaustible commitment to Ypsilanti and greater Washtenaw County business development, and to religious and philanthropic communities. Whether running the Huron Motor Inn or practicing law, he always found time to engage in his community, serving on numerous boards, fund-raising campaigns and charitable efforts, all the while partnering with his beloved wife of 70 years, Mary Claire (Dwyer) Anhut, as they raised their nine children. An exemplary model of family nurture, of community service and of faith-filled living, Bill was respected and admired by everyone with whom he had contact, and wholly adored by his family. He will be dearly missed.
Bill was blessed with a wide range of talents and the grace to share them selflessly, whether as an accomplished lawyer and community leader or as a prankster clown roving the Ypsilanti Fourth of July parade. He and Mary Claire enjoyed years of adventures and travels with many close friends and family. He enjoyed tennis with the BIG BOYS ("Boy I’m Good But Oh You Stink"), golf with the guys and daily coffee with his posse of local and world problem solvers.
Bill was born August 2, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan, the seventh and youngest child of John Nicholson Anhut and Elizabeth Bouvier Walsh Anhut. He was a graduate of Florida Military Academy in 1947, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame in 1951 (where he was elected student council president) and of the University of Michigan Law School in 1956. He also served honorably in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1953.
Bill’s professional career began in the family hotel and restaurant business in Detroit and Farmington Hills, during which time he was President of the Detroit Hotel Association, as well as President of the International Hotel Greeters of America. He continued his career in Ypsilanti when he and Mary Claire purchased the Huron Hotel in 1963, which they ran as the Huron Motor Inn until 1970. After the sale of the hotel, Bill practiced law with life-long friends to be, Ellis Freatman and John Barr. During his law career, he served the Washtenaw County Bar Association as President, and the Michigan State Bar for nine years as a member of the Board of Directors.
Bill served local communities in many ways throughout his lifetime, as Chairman of the St. Francis Educational Trust Fund, and as its initial fundraising chairman; as an active 12-year member of the Board of Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels; as President of the Forum Club; as President of Fr. Gabriel Richard High School Board of Education; as President of the Ypsilanti Area Industrial Development Corporation; as President and active member of the Ypsilanti Rotary Club; as member of the Washtenaw County Economic Development Council; as a 14-year member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Social Services; as a seven-year member of the Ypsilanti Urban Renewal Commission; as President of the Ypsilanti Little League (when he, along with other community leaders, in 1973, led the effort to extend league eligibility to Carolyn King, and young girls across the country). He and Mary Claire were recognized for their community involvement when the Chamber of Commerce awarded them the Distinguished Service Award in 1989.
As a devout Catholic and a loyal son of Notre Dame, Bill and Mary Claire were recognized by the University with an Exempla Award, and were named to Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard High School’s Hall of Fame. Together, they provided all nine of their children with Catholic primary, secondary and college educations. Bill was a Eucharistic Minister, Commentator and Lector at St. John the Baptist and St. Francis of Assisi Churches.
Bill is survived by his loving wife, Mary Claire Dwyer Anhut and by their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren: William F. Anhut Jr., (Dale), and children William F. Anhut III (Tonya) and Jacqueline; Amy Anhut Hadley (Gene) and son Clark; Charles Robert Anhut (Cathy) and children Nicholas (Erin), Erin (Kevin) and Kevin (Meredith); Jill Anhut Epstein (Todd) and daughter Anna; Thomas John Anhut (Theresa) and children Colin, Devan (Michael) and Haley; Jeffrey Clark Anhut (Maria) and children Michael and Natalie; Matthew Dwyer Anhut and children Jackson and Greta Grace; Christopher Walsh Anhut (Holly) and children Hope, Winn and Elle; and son-in-law, Kit Hollingshead and children Petra, Eris and Kelly Hyatt (Ron).
He was predeceased by his daughter-in-law, Chrissy Simbro Anhut; daughter, Frances Marie Anhut, and son-in-law, James Hyatt; his parents, John and Elizabeth Anhut; brothers, John Anhut, Charles Anhut; and sisters, Mary Elizabeth Patterson, Jacqueline Johnson, Justine McKnight and Louise Eichenlaub.
A visitation will take place Friday, October 29, 2021 from 4-8 pm with a Scripture Service at 7 pm at Nie Family Funeral Home - Carpenter Road Location, 2400 Carpenter Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48108. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 10 am with visitation beforehand at 9:30 am at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 2250 E. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. The funeral mass will be livestreamed, available through the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church YouTube channel.
Memorial contributions may be made in Bill's honor to Fr. Gabriel Richard High School Scholarship Fund (4333 Whitehall Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48105); St. Francis of Assisi Parish Building Fund (2250 E. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48104) or the Ypsilanti Historical Museum (220 N. Huron St., Ypsilanti, MI 48197).