William W. Naughtin

William W. Naughtin, age 74, of Northville, passed away February 12, 2023. He was born to John M. “Budge” and Marie C. Naughtin in Spalding, NE in 1948.

Bill grew up on a farm outside Spalding, Nebraska.  He loved the sandhills of Nebraska and the work tied to it and always wanted to return there to raise cattle. But as he learned from his father, “it is what it is.”  After his parents moved to town, he spent every possible hour working on other folks farms.  He loved the outdoors and spent many an hour watching wildlife at sunrise.  Bill entertained us all with his stories, many no doubt embellished for effect, but we loved him for it.  His goal was always to get everyone to laugh, or at least smile.  When they did, it was as though we could all relax and enjoy whatever difficulty needed to be addressed, together.

After high school, Bill headed to Denver to study computer programming at Parks College.  He began his career as Denver Public Schools as their first programmer.  He went on to positions in the county office working with school districts implementing technology and then to companies like Weatherford, Westinghouse Learning Corporation and Sun Valley Systems working in education technology.  Ultimately, he was a founding member of Aequitas Solutions, where he worked as CEO at the time of his death.  He led teams and inspired loyalty in part through his belief that when making decisions, clients come before team and colleagues come before self.

Bill is survived by his wife of twenty years, Anne Hamilton; his daughter Sarah Naughtin; and his siblings, Ed (Cheryl) Naughtin, Jim (Lorie) Naughtin, Gina (the late John) Molczyk, and Peg (the late Jeffrey) Burns. He is also survived by his first family: his former spouse Mary Naughtin and their children, Jason Naughtin, Weston Naughtin, Mac Naughtin, Mara Snee, and Tara Naughtin Tabije. He was preceded in death by his parents, Budge and Marie.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Noon with visitation beginning at 11am at Holy Cross Episcopal Church, 40700 West 10 Mile Road, Novi, MI 48375.  With parts of 10 Mile Road closed due to road construction, you may not be able to get to church from Meadowbrook or Haggerty. You can get to 10 Mile Road near Holy Cross on Cranbrook Drive from 9 Mile Road or can use Bashian from Grand River.

Memorial contributions would be appreciated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital , 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or the American Diabetes Association , PO Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023.