Bill was born August 3, 1935, in Versailles, Ohio, to the late Clarence & Mildred (Monnin) Pepiot. In addition to his parents, Bill was also preceded in death by a sister-in-law, Lucy Hoelscher; and brothers-in-law, Linus Heitkamp and Bernard Drees.
Bill is survived by his wife, Mary M. (Drees) Pepiot whom he married November 9, 1957; daughter & son-in-law, Monica & Scott Winemiller of Lake Orion, Michigan; grandsons, Andrew S. Winemiller, senior at Ferris State University majoring in accounting and Alex S. Winemiller, freshman at Lake Orion High School, playing on the JV bowling team; brother & sister-in-law, Thomas & Linda Pepiot of Troy, Ohio; sisters & brother-in-law, Patricia Heitkamp of Versailles and Norma & Lester Monnin of Versailles; sisters-in-law & brothers-in-law, Rebecca & Charles Fatone of Vandalia, Ohio, Earlene Drees of Ft. Loramie, Ohio, and Nelson Hoelscher of Newport, Ohio; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Bill graduated from Versailles High School in 1953 and then attended Sinclair Community College to take courses to advance his career. SP4 William Pepiot served his Country during the Korean Era 1954-1956. Bill served with the 11th Airborne and received his Paratrooper Wings. He was deployed to Germany and joined the 5th Corp. 35th Truck Company. Bill was Honorably Discharged in 1956.
Bill purchased equipment for the Remanufacturing Plant, Copeland Corp. in Rushville, Indiana. Bill along with the Director was involved with the equipment and layout of the plant. They met their goals for start of production in May of 1980. Bill was Quality Control and Product Engineering Manager at Rushville. He was also responsible for engineering changes to the products to help their authorized license plants throughout the United States. He retired as Product Engineering Manager in 1995 with combined employment 1953-1966 and 1974-1995 for a total of 38 years of service.
Bill and his family moved to Rushville, Indiana, to set up Copeland Plant and they joined St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Bill’s daughter attended St. Mary’s Catholic School. He was active in the parish serving as usher and was on the parish counsel. Bill was active for 20 years on the maintenance committee, maintaining upkeep on the parish school, church, rectory and the wooded area next to the parking lot and school. Bill and his wife were marriage counselors before couples got married.
Bill was a member of Russia Catholic War Veterans since 1961. He was also a member of St. Denis Catholic Church in Versailles, Ohio, the American Legion in Versailles, Ohio, Versailles Eagles Lodge #2347, Knights of Columbus Counsel 1756, Band Boosters, Tiger 250 Club, Friends of Hole Field and Friends of the Historical Society.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Monday, January 14, 2019, at St. Denis Catholic Church in Versailles, Ohio, with Rev. Fr. Jim Simons celebrant. Burial will follow in St. Valbert Cemetery in Versailles with full military honors conducted by the Russia Catholic War Veterans and the Versailles Veteran’s Honor Guard. The family will receive friends on Sunday from 2:00 to 7:00 PM and Monday morning from 9:00 to 10:00 AM at Bailey Zechar Funeral Home in Versailles, Ohio. Memorial contributions may be made to the Versailles EMS or State of the Heart Care. Condolences for the family may be expressed through www.zecharbailey.com
