Werner Hans Will

Werner H. Will, 93, husband of Grace B. Will, died on February 28, 2025. He was born on September 29, 1931, the third of four children, in Scharnitz, Germany. His parents and siblings preceded him in death.

After the Second World War, Will and his family were forcibly relocated from his home in East Pomerania (now Poland) to East Germany. Several years later, Will made a dangerous escape from East Germany, and after a long journey arrived in Luxembourg. There he found a job as a farmhand with a Mennonite family, who eventually helped him emigrate to the United States and attain a scholarship to study at Eastern Mennonite College in Harrisonburg, VA. While in school he met his future wife, Emma Grace Bontrager, and they were married in 1961.

Will continued his graduate studies at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City. Upon completion of his Ph.D., the couple moved to Macomb, IL, and raised four children. Will taught German language and civilization for 26 years at Western Illinois University. In addition to his academic research interests, which focused on texts from the Protestant Reformation and the writings of Martin Luther, Will did substantial field research on Viking culture in Iceland and the study of Runic inscriptions. In 1994, Will retired and moved with Grace to Missoula, Montana, where they ran a B&B in the Bitterroot Valley for 15 years. The couple were active in the local X-country ski and hiking clubs and entertained their many new friends with an international supper club.

In 2015, the couple moved to Summerville, SC, where they spent their last years at the Presbyterian Communities Home. At the Community, Will led several educational programs such as Great Decisions and Comparative Religions. One of his favorite activities was a weekly German Stammtisch where he helped his friends and neighbors converse in German.

His childhood experience of living under a dictatorship, first in Nazi Germany and then in Communist East Germany, informed the rest of Will’s life. He keenly appreciated the advantages of a free and open society and endeavored to promote these ideas inside and outside of the classroom. He documented his experience in his autobiography, From the Oder to the Bitterroot, enjoyed by many for its first-hand account of his earlier life and the transformative power of knowledge and critical thinking. Will brought joy and inspiration to his friends, colleagues, and students with his quick wit and wide ranging discussions of ideas, be it in world politics, books, music, religion, or philosophy.

Will is survived by his wife, his children Kurt D. Will, Karl E. Will, Katrina M. Will, Konrad H. Will, and his grandchildren Olivia, Parker, Hannah, and Jakob.

Arrangements by PARKS FUNERAL HOME, 130 W. 1st North Street, Summerville, SC 29483. www.parksfuneralhome.com

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