Willard Keith Cale

Willard Keith Cale, 81, of Centerville, Ohio passed away peacefully in the presence of his family and friends on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Born on September 20, 1940, in Buffalo, Ohio, to late parents Boyd and Leone Cale, he attended Buffalo High School.

Will is survived by his loving wife of 55 years Sylvia Cale; daughter Kathy Eichlin, son-in-law Brian Eichlin and grandsons Kevin and Garret Eichlin of Oak Ridge, North Carolina; sister-in-law Marilyn Cale of Colorado Springs, Colorado, sister-in-law Judy Dean of Centerville, Ohio, and numerous nephews and nieces, great nephews and nieces scattered throughout the country. Will really enjoyed his frequent trips to North Carolina and Kiawah Island, South Carolina spending quality time with family and watching his grandsons play tennis, football, basketball and soccer throughout the years watching them grow into the great young men they have become today.

Will was preceded in death by his brothers Robert, Dean, and Jerry and sister-in-laws Margaret and Helen. Will was very proud of the fact that all three brothers served in the military. Robert and Dean were WWII Veterans, Army Air Core, and Navy respectively, and Jerry was a Marine during the Cold War.

Will received a Bachelor’s degree from Ohio University, a Master’s Degree from The Ohio State University, and post-graduate work at Xavier University and Miami University of Oxford, Ohio.

Will retired from Centerville City Schools after more than 45 years, where he started as a Biology teacher at Magsig and then served as Assistant Principal at Cline High School moving onto Principal of Centerville High School where he was responsible for the building the new High School and facilities that are there today. Will then served as Director of Curriculum and Assistant Superintendent of Centerville City Schools. To this day, Will continued to support the school district with levy’s, mentoring faculty and students, Scholarship reviews and coordination and attended every Elk Football and Basketball game that he could.

Will and his family loved traveling. Will has been in all 50 states, and after retiring he and Sylvia became world travelers visiting Mexico, Canada, the British Isles, the Baltic countries, Russia, the Mediterranean, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and the Caribbean. Will really fell in love with New Zealand, Kiawah Island and Sarasota Florida, where he went to spend family vacations with family and friends any chance he could get.

Will thoroughly enjoyed participating in church and service activities. He was a member of the Centerville Noon Optimist Club for 46 years where he held most offices in the club including president. He was particularly proud of the Will Cale Scholarship, a college scholarship established by the Centerville Noon Optimist Club to assist students who had faced some type of adversity. He served on the Board of Trustees for the Dayton Society of Natural History and was a Trustee for the Centerville Education Foundation. Will and Sylvia attended Christ United Methodist Church in Kettering for more than 40 years, where Will chaired the Video Ministries Commission, served on the Administrative Board and participated in numerous other church activities.

Will was an avid sports fan and faithfully followed The Ohio State University Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns. He also enjoyed playing golf, fishing and opportunities he had to volunteer and marshal several LPGA and Seniors professional golf tournaments.

Family will greet friends from 4 pm to 7 pm on Friday, May 13 at Routsong Funeral Home, 2100 E. Stroop Rd, Kettering. Funeral services will be held at 11 am on Saturday, May 14 at the funeral home followed by the burial at Miami Valley Memory Gardens. A Celebration of Life Open House will be held at Centerville High School, 500 E. Franklin St. immediately following the Funeral on Saturday, May 14 from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. All family and friends are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Centerville Noon Optimist Club Will Cale Scholarship at the Centerville Noon Optimist Club, PO Box 750492, Dayton, OH 45475-0492.