William was born on December 27, 1940, to Albert and Helen (Mraz) Bittner.  He was the second youngest of 8 children.  He was born into a musical family; his father was a gifted pianist and his siblings played various musical instruments and had wonderful singing voices.  Bill had fond memories of family gatherings where Dad played on the piano and his sisters and brothers sang along.  His Dad played clarinet in the US Army Infantry Band in WWI.  Bill, or Billy, as his family called him, attended Christ the King Elementary School and graduated in 1959 from De La Salle High School in Minneapolis MN. After graduation he worked at a soda fountain and attended college at University of Minnesota.  He earned an engineering science certificate.  He met his future bride Linda (Zelich) on a blind date and was immediately smitten with the dark haired beauty from Prineville, OR.  They were married in a double wedding ceremony, combined with his sister Barbara and her husband, on July 11, 1964.  Bill went to work for 3M Corporation in Research and Development.  He was attending classes at night at University of MN towards a degree in Chemistry.  He had to set school aside for a time to care for his ailing parents and also the arrival of premature twins Lisa and Robert.  Two years later, Laurie was born, then Christopher.  In late 1974 Bill and Linda relocated the family to Coeur d'Alene, ID.  Bill began working for Fiberform Boat Company until it closed.  He learned to reupholster furniture and opened up his own business, named St. Joseph's Workshop.  Bill did beautiful work and soon had a thriving business restoring, repairing and reupholstering all kinds of furniture.  He expanded and diversified, creating SJ Enterprises, adding carpet cleaning and other pursuits.  Linda and Bill had 3 more children, Francis, (Frank) Joseph, (Joe) and Stephen (Steve).  Bill continued his education, attending Spokane Community College earning an AA Degree, a Bachelors in Business Administration and his MBA from Eastern Washington University. Bill suffered a debilitating stroke in 2008 and had to retire, but he did not let his loss of mobility slow him down.  He still enjoyed driving, karaoke, and singing in the choir.  He was a faithful member of Mount St. Michael's Parish along with his family.  Bill is survived by his wife of 59 years, Linda, his sons Rob, Frank, Steve (wife Autumn), and Chris (wife Becky), and daughter Laurie (husband Brad). Bill has 2 remaining siblings, sister Betty of Bellevue, WA and Bernard "Bernie" of Maple Grove, MN.  Bill and Linda have 6 grandchildren, Sawyer, Lacy, Declan, Anthony, Jamie, and Taytem. Bill entered into Eternal Rest on March 16, 2023.  His burial will be at Holy Rosary Cemetery in Spokane, WA.  Bill will be remembered for his devotion to St. Joseph and the Holy Family, and as a loving husband and father.  He enjoyed the outdoors and living in the Pacific Northwest.  His family has fond memories of camping adventures and trips to various state and national parks, and also camping in Canada and parts of the Midwest.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.