TROY, Mich. William P. Panny, age 83 of Troy, Mich., formerly of Bloomfield Hills, passed away Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011. Beloved husband of Lillian for 60 years. Loving father of Gail (Larry) Gudith, Lynne (Jerry) Younce, Karen (Mark) Linton and Bill (Denise). Dear grandfather of Bryan, Jennifer and Isabella. Brother of Fred (Elsie) and the late Frank (late Medea). Also the late Krys, his German Shepherd Dog.
Panny was a professional engineer with an undergraduate degree from Pratt Institute, an MME from Chrysler Institute and an MBA from the U of M. Panny served as chairman, president and CEO of MLX Corp.; vice chairman and COO of the Bendix Corp.; and president of automotive operations at Rockwell International. His other affiliations included Engineering Society of Detroit, Mary Grove College and the Society of Automotive Engineers. He loved his family and the outdoors; especially hunting and fishing, and mentoring young entrepreneurs. He served his country with honor and dignity as a proud Marine (once a Marine always a Marine).
Family will receive friends Thursday, Sept. 22, 38 p.m. at A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home, 2600 Crooks Road, Troy, Mich., with Scripture Service Thursday evening. Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. at St. Hugo of the Hills, 2215 Opdyke Road, Bloomfield, Hills, Mich. Visitation at the church begins at 9:30 a.m. The family has requested, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Alzheimer’s Association for Research, 20300 Civic Center Drive, Suite 100, Southfield, MI 48076.
View obituary and share memories at www.DesmondFuneralHome.com.