Bill McIlwaine was born on Jan. 4, 1924 in Fall River, Mass., marking the start of a remarkable life that would span more than a century. Bill's journey eventually led him to Lancaster, where he recently celebrated his 100th birthday with his children and close friends. In the many decades that Bill has called Lancaster home, the retired professor and decorated combat veteran has left a major impact on the community and the people in it.

Bill graduated from high school in 1942, and he enlisted in the armed forces in 1943. The United States had officially entered World War II only a few years prior, and the conflict would continue to rage around the globe for another two years. Bill was assigned to the United States Army 80th Infantry, where he saw combat in a few of the war's bloodiest battles. During the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, Bill was wounded by an artillery round, and he was awarded the Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Combat Infantryman Badge and four Theatre of Operations stars for his role in the fight.

After the war ended in 1945, Bill returned to America and enrolled at Boston University to study geology and chemistry. Bill married his wife, Melva, in 1950, and they had four children together. While Bill was taking classes at Penn State University in 1957, he heard about a small school that was known as Millersville State Teachers College at the time; he didn't know it then, but the school would become an accredited university and the home of his long teaching career. Bill and his family moved to Millersville one year later, and he earned both a master's degree and a doctoral degree in the following years as he taught in Millersville.

Bill was heavily active in the Millersville community both on and off the university's campus. He helped obtain more than $1 million in grant funding as Millersville University's director of grants and awards, and he personally testified before a House of Representatives committee to advocate for educational equipment programs. However, Bill's endeavors were not limited to his own community; he traveled to China and the Soviet Union in the '70s as a member of the U.S. State Department's scholar diplomat program. Following his retirement in 1991, Bill served on Millersville University's board of trustees for more than 20 years, and he became an active member of the Penn Manor School Board and many others.

Two of Bill's children remained in Lancaster County after growing up in Millersville: Deb Shenk of Willow Street and David McIlwaine of East Petersburg. Bill's daughter Meredyth Van Scherpenseel lives in Georgia, and his son Doug McIlwaine resides in Virginia. Regardless of the career path that his kids chose, Bill advocated for them as fervently as he did for his students. Shenk became an educator like her father, and she taught in Hempfield School District for 40 years, and Doug followed in Bill's footsteps by earning a doctorate in chemistry from Brown University. David and Meredyth chose other paths, but the four siblings each practice their father's values by actively volunteering in their own communities.

"When our dad was involved with something, he attended all the meetings and took his involvement seriously. We grew up seeing that you do more than just your job," said Shenk. "We learned that when you commit to something, you give 100%."