William Wallace Vance, 79

William Wallace Vance passed away in Whitefish on Jan. 22. Born in Chicago on March 23, 1943, Bill spent his early years in South Bend, Indiana, where his father was president of Studebaker Motors and then in Washington, D.C., where his dad served as a Commissioner of the Atomic Energy Committee (AEC).

While living in the D.C. area, Bill attended the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland, graduating in 1962. There he had a reputation as a fiercely competitive wrestler and earned all-Metropolitan honors in that sport. He then went to the University of South Carolina to begin his college education; however, his time there was interrupted by the war in Vietnam, so Bill joined the Navy and served on board the USS Monticello off the coast of Vietnam.

After completing his college education at American University, Bill worked for the historic Riggs Bank in D.C. where he rose to the position of Senior Trust Officer. It was there that he met and married Landis Fielding and they remained together until she died in 2016.

Bill had several hobbies during his life. Though Studebaker stopped making cars in the late 1950s, a private group continued to manufacture the Avanti, one of Studebaker’s most iconic models and one that captivated Bill for the rest of his life. He served for many years as president of the Avanti Club in DC.

Perhaps his second love was skiing, which he pursued with as much intensity and enthusiasm as he did wrestling. Being a superb athlete, he competed in and won multiple NASTAR races throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Like so many displaced Washington types, Bill retained his love of the Redskins. He spent many Sundays watching the ‘Skins game at the bar at Fatt Boys.

Later in life Bill turned his backyard hobby into somewhat of a passion, growing every kind of pepper imaginable, hot and otherwise. He became much in demand as a certified judge of chili recipes and in that capacity he and Landis visited chili festivals around the Northeast whenever he served as a judge.

Bill always had a love of animals, especially dogs. He volunteered for many years at the Humane Society in D.C. and adopted several rescue canines, including his most recent “best friend”, Loki.

In retirement Bill and Landis moved to Montana. Bill is survived by his brother John Gordon Vance of Charlottesville, Virginia and two nieces, Eleanor Towers and Hilary Archibald.