William Gene Hime was welcomed as a good and faithful Christian servant into heaven on June 6, 2017, at the age of 91. His life exemplified integrity and technical expertise. He was devoted to his beloved wife Nancy and his family. He was a charter and long time member of the Presbyterian Church of Glenview (North Branch Bible Church), avid golfer, and enthusiastic fan of his Northwestern University Wildcat basketball and football teams.

 

He was pre-deceased by his wife Nancy Rose (Price) of 62 years. He is survived by his daughters Carolyn Sue Hime of Colorado Springs, CO, Lisa Ann Backus of Park Ridge, IL and Sandra Jean Miller (Roger) of Wauconda, IL; his five grandchildren Havalah (Matthew) Grace Teaman, Maharah (Adam) Jones, Shalanah (Grant) Dawson, Yatashah Backus and Maxwell Miller; six great-grandchildren and dear brother-in-law, Milton (Joy) Price.

 

We are blessed and grateful to God that he was in our lives. Bill was born on December 31, 1925 outside of Dayton, Ohio to Raymond and Irma (Shawen) Hime. He was raised in Ohio and California, but lived most of his life in Glenview.

 

He received a Bachelor’s in Chemistry from Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio and did doctoral graduate studies in chemistry at Northwestern University. He was one of the nation’s premier experts in the chemistry of cement and failure analysis of concrete and construction materials. He was active in many professional organizations such as the ASTM International, American Chemical Society and the American Concrete Institute, and received lifetime and many special awards from these organizations.

 

He published over 100 professional articles in books and magazines on his findings. He championed prevention of cement burns. He was a chemistry assistant professor briefly at Louisiana Tech University, then served as the head of the analytical laboratory and Manager of the Chemical and Petrographic Research Section at the Portland Cement Association. In 1972, he and Bernie Erlin formed Erlin, Hime Associates, which became a division of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE) in 1984. He served as Principal at WJE until he retired 10 years ago at the age of 81.

 

A visitation was held Friday, June 9 from 5:30 to 8 pm at N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Rd., Glenview. Memorial service was held Saturday, June 10 at 10:30 am at North Branch Bible Church (formerly Presbyterian Church of Glenview), 3030 Central Rd., Glenview, IL 60025. Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to Northwestern University athletics or the chemistry department, North Branch Bible Church in Glenview or Heidelberg University in Ohio. Arrangements by N.H. Scott & Hanekamp, 847-998-1020.