William "Bill" James Colbourne

William "Bill" James Colbourne passed away peacefully at his home in Suwanee, Georgia on Monday, July 30th. He was born on February 25th, 1949 on Staten Island, New York to Tegwen (Phillips) Colbourne and James Colbourne. He graduated from the State University of New York in Binghamton in 1971 with a degree in Industrial Psychology. Bill married his beloved Lee Fleming on May 28th, 1994 in Atlanta, Georgia. They moved together to Deerfield, Illinois, where he had a very successful career as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. He was honored with a national nomination by his fellow peers as one of four Human Resources executives of the year. In addition to his role at BCBSA, he was also honored to be on the board of directors at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Bill took much pride in his job, and built many lasting relationships that remained even after his retirement in 2015. Bill leaves behind his wife, Lee Colbourne, his two children, James Colbourne (Kimberly) and Cynthia Steskal (John), two step-children Celeste Schlegel (Ken) and Ryan Fleming (Laurel), and eight grandchildren (Cole Steskal, Andrew Steskal, Katie Colbourne, William Colbourne, Harrison Fleming, Holly Fleming, Megen Sams (Ryan) and Nic Vialet). He is survived by three siblings, Jeanne Baab (Kenneth), Barbara Huth (Robert), and Richard Colbourne (Sandra). Bill loved his nieces and nephews very much, and enjoyed making them laugh with his wit and humor. While he loved his career, he was happiest around his family. Bill had many hobbies and interests such as reading about Lewis and Clark, spending time at their cabin in Idaho, traveling the world with Lee, and enjoying a good cigar; however, his favorite pastime was golfing. He spent innumerable hours golfing with family and friends throughout the years, and had many fun but competitive rounds with his brother Rich and his son James. Family, friends and others whose lives he touched are invited to his celebration of life August 18, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at Arboretum Club, 401 Half Day Rd., Buffalo Grove, IL. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, www.pancan.org, 877-272-6226.

William "Bill" James Colbourne

July 30, 2018