William 'Bill' Sullivan Jr

William “Bill” Sullivan, Jr. of Lake Villa, IL passed away Wednesday October 29, 2025 at the age of 82. Bill was born on May 22, 1943 in Chicago, but moved to Lake Villa as a child. He graduated from Grayslake High School and attended Devry University before starting a landscaping business with his father. He continued that landscape business in the community for over 40 years, beautifying the aesthetic landscape of homes and businesses in the area. If you didn’t recognize his car around town with the “Sully” plates, you certainly recognized his tall, lengthy stature. And those long legs gave him one speed…FAST! If you wanted to keep up with him, you had better learn to walk fast because he was not slowing down. And he never did slow down. He was always on the go. He may have been thin, but he knew the best places to get the best food, especially loving foods from his polish roots like Kolaczki cookies and potato pancakes. Most people only find one or two hobbies that they enjoy in their lifetime, but he had numerous and excelled at all of them. In his younger days he could be found snowmobiling in the winters and RV camping in the summers. Those traditions got passed down to his children and grandchildren who continue his “glamping” tradition today. He especially loved boating and spent countless hours with his family cruising the waters of Lake Michigan on the family boat, named “Our Second Love”. He also loved model trains and built a remarkable train set adorned with every detail from bridges, ponds, trees, clouds. He left no details undone. His model train creation gained attention and was even featured in the local newspaper. His passion for model trains even led him to pursue organizing and running a model train show at the Lake County Fair Grounds for years. If trains weren’t enough, one of his other favorite hobbies was racing R/C cars with his son. He not only raced the cars, but also built them and designed the bodies. He had so many talents including his ability to engineer and build things, but his artistic, creative design ability was unmatched. His youngest daughter reaped those benefits when school projects were needed as she always had dad’s help to build the best models. Some of Bill’s other hobbies included dabbling with remote controlled planes, helicopters and even drones. One hobby that remained consistent throughout his life was his love of photography. He was always the guy with the camera, finding the right angle, proper lighting, and capturing the most stunning photos. When he wasn’t capturing beautiful pictures of his beloved grandkids, he was traveling all over the area clicking away at churches, barns, eagles, trains, and the skylines of Chicago and Milwaukee. As a board member for the Lake County Camera Club, he organized numerous events including photography excursions. He won countless awards for his photos. However, his most prized award was his family. Married for over 36 years to Karen, he always complimented how smart and hard working she was and how thankful he was for how she stepped up to help with the kids. He always told his children how proud he was of how good they turned out. His daily phone calls to check in on each of his kids will be missed dearly. He was a caring grandpa, always the one at their special events standing up in the crowd to get the perfect picture or strategically picking his seat for the best photo angles. If he teased you and gave you a hard time, that’s how you knew he loved you. And if he didn’t agree with something, he didn’t hesitate to tell you “That’s bullshit”. He had the gift of gab, except if the Bears were playing or he was watching a NASCAR race. He will be missed dearly. He is survived by his wife, Karen Rompella Sullivan; children Bill L Sullivan, Carrie (Steve) Richter, Denise Lersch; grandkids Dylan Richter, Alyssa and Chloe Lersch; siblings Kathy (Warren) Regnier and Marcia (George) Smart. He is preceded in death by his parents William J Sullivan, Sr and Loretta (Bartecki) Sullivan. A memorial visitation will be held on Friday November 7, 2025 from 3-7pm at Ringa Funeral Home. (122 S Milwaukee Ave, Lake Villa, IL 60046). For more information, call 847-356-2146.

William 'Bill' Sullivan Jr

May 22, 1943 - October 29, 2025

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