William Francis Ilch

Dr. William F. Ilch  1954-2026

William (Bill) Ilch went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on March 15, 2026. He was at the end of a 25-year battle with Parkinson Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease with no cure.

He was surrounded by his wife of 44 years, Jerie, and his dear friends of 50 years from dental school days, Dale and Carol Whilden.

Bill was born on April 8, 1954, in Alton, Illinois and lived in Godfrey his young adult life. He graduated from Alton High in 1972. Spurred by his love of model airplane building, he pursued an education track of dentistry.

He attended Lewis and Clark Community College, Illinois College, and Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine.

In 1975 Bill received Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

Upon graduating from dental school in 1979, he moved to Decatur, Illinois to practice dentistry at a public aid clinic. While there, he met his wife Jerie at a home Bible study. He took a break from dentistry in 1980 to attend the Discipleship Intern Training Program, an intensive 9-month Bible course.

Bill and Jerie married on June 13, 1981, when they decided they could serve the Lord better together than apart. That Fall, they moved to Virden, Illinois, to open a solo dental practice. While running his dental practice for 23 years, he was an elder in his church, preaching, teaching, and discipling young men.

He was known for being gentle, kind, meticulous in his dentistry, and being very good with children. It was a great sadness to him that he and Jerie could never have children themselves.

From 1991 to 2017, Bill traveled to several Central and South American countries and India as part of a dental missionary team, using dentistry to spread the Gospel.

Bill loved the mountains and in 2004, his Parkinson diagnosis forced him to retire.

Bill and Jerie moved to the Colorado mountains, where they enjoyed hiking, skiing, fishing, golfing and shoveling much snow. He also served as an elder there, preaching and teaching the Bible. He taught science in a small Christian school and served as the administrator. Because he loved life and strongly believed the unborn are people, he instituted a men’s program for the Women’s Resource Center, a local crisis pregnancy center. The program was designed to help men see the value of fatherhood.

In 2018, Parkinson once again forced a move. He chose Lake St. Louis, Missouri, where he could be closer to family. During his first week there, he discovered the Lake St. Louis Community Association Ping Pong Club. An avid ping pong player most of his life, Bill deeply enjoyed the camaraderie and competition the club provided. He attended as much as could until a few weeks before he died, playing most of the last two years in a wheelchair.

In October 2018, he joined LifePoint Church in O’Fallon, Missouri and remained as active as possible.

He loved listening to preaching and teaching. He loved contemporary Christian music, the old hymns, and oddly enough, the Rolling Stones.

He was preceded in death by his brother David Ilch (Virgina), and sister Addie McGhee (Jim).

He is survived by two nephews Cory Gallivan (Julie) and Joshua Ilch (Carmen; and two nieces; Pam Kasten (Mike) and Paula (Brian) Gebelein; and several great nieces and nephews.

There is no cure for Parkinson Disease and as time goes on, a person’s life is affected in many ways, physical and mental. When the wheelchair became necessary, Bill sweetly yielded to its limitations.

He appreciated being pushed around the neighborhood when weather allowed, eating out, and meandering through Costco, where he always enjoyed a hotdog and ice cream. Bill loved ice cream!

For many years, Bill took advantage of the fine programs at the Missouri chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association (apdaparkinson.org). He also tracked the research being conducted by the Michael J. Fox Foundation (michaeljfox.org) and asked that memorials be made in his name in lieu of flowers.

A celebration of his lovely life will be held on Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m. at the Lake St. Louis Community Center, 100 Cognac Drive, Lake St. Louis.

Jerie wants to thank Heartland Hospice of Wentzville for their excellent care. She wants everyone to know Bill was the love of her life.