William Lodermeier Obituary

William L. Lodermeier

Jun 27, 1948 - Jun 15, 2025

Middle Bass Island

William L. Lodermeier, 76, longtime educator, football and wrestling coach, middle school and high school principal, and school superintendent, passed Sunday, June 15, 2025. He was born June 27, 1948, in Norwalk, the son of Leon and Imelda (Widman) Lodermeier. In 1970, he married Marcia Wagner Lodermeier and divorced in July 1998. In September 2002, he married Barbara (Schiller Seller) Lodermeier.

William (Bill) Lodermeier taught and coached at Norwalk St. Paul High School in Norwalk from 1970-1973. Bill taught and coached at Mapleton High School in Ashland from 1973-1977. He moved to Bluffton in 1977, where he taught, coached and was a middle school principal until 1986. Bill was named Wrestling Coach of the Year (Ohio small school division) in 1982 for Bluffton winning the 1981 State Wrestling Championship.

Bill worked for Shawnee Local Schools from 1986 as an assistant high school principal and principal and was named superintendent in 1992. He retired from public education in early 2000 and returned in 2001 as superintendent of Pike-Delta-York in Delta until 2002. He became superintendent of Bath Local Schools in Lima from 2002-2011. While serving as superintendent of Bath Local Schools, Bill also served as superintendent of Middle Bass Island School from 2005-2013. For years, he made his home for the winter in Key West, Florida, and spent his summers on Middle Bass Island.

Bill was active in many coaching, teaching, and administrative school organizations, including serving a two-year term as a teacher union president; others include Lima Elk Lodge, Bluffton Optimist Club, and Lima Noon Rotary.

Bill spent his later years as a travel agent for Sandals Resorts and was also a member of Middle Bass Island Senior Men's Club. His morning coffee with 'the guys' at MB General Store and his favorite Key West coffee shops was his favorite daily ritual. Bill is survived by his wife, Barbara; his brother, Jeffrey Lodermeier of Norwalk; his sister, Mary Pat Lodermeier Rolf of Pennsylvania; his sons, Alexander, Adam, and Erik Lodermeier (Colleen); his grandchildren, Zoe and Kaya Lodermeier, Amelia and Maclin Lodermeier; his stepchildren, Eric Seller (Jenna) and Ann Seller (Rob); and his stepgrandchildren, Nola, Owen, Lucy Seller and Oscar Honkonen.

He was preceded in death by John (Jack) Lodermeier of Norwalk.

A celebration of life will be Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Middle Bass Island. See social media for more details. Bill has donated his body to Ohio State University for cancer research.

Memorial contribu-tions may be sent to Norwalk St. Paul High School Athletic Program, 92 East Main, Norwalk, Ohio 44857 or Precision Cancer Medicine Fund at The James Cancer Hospital - https://giveto.osu.edu/makeagift/details/315680.