William E. Platz

william platz

June 14, 1942 ~ January 8, 2024

Born in: Detroit, Michigan
Resided in: Springfield, Virginia

Beloved husband, father, and grandfather, William E. Platz, age 81, passed away on Monday, January 8, 2024, at his home in Springfield, Virginia. Bill is survived by Nikki, his wife of 56 years; two children: Veronique Rojas (Alfredo), Darrell (Susan) Platz; four grandchildren: Nate, Paige, Ethan, and Chloe Platz; and one brother: Dave (Sherry) Platz. His loving parents predeceased him: Edward and Cecelia (Boucard) Platz; and a brother: Richard “Duke” Platz.

Bill was born in Detroit, Michigan, at Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital on Flag Day, Sunday, June 14, 1942. In 1948, the family moved to Cheboygan, Michigan, where his father set up a sawmill. Bill, his brothers, and his cousins worked at their grandfather’s greenhouse after school and on Saturdays. In January 1952, the family moved back to Detroit, where the boys attended St. Scholastica Grade School. Bill graduated from Benedictine High School in 1960. A successful student-athlete, he made the Honor Roll each semester of his four years of high school, playing football and being selected for the All-City football team three years in a row and 2nd Team All-State. He went on to attend the University of Detroit, majoring in history while working as the Benedictine High School junior varsity football head coach.

December 1965 was a significant time for Bill: he proposed to his future wife Nikki in Paris and was commissioned in Detroit as a 2nd Lt. in the USMC. Following completion of The Basic School and Marine Corps Engineer School in 1966, Bill completed a 13-month tour in Vietnam returning in September 1967. Two weeks later the couple wed in Montebeliard, France, and the family members who attended the wedding joined them on their honeymoon trip to Cabourg, France. Bill’s career took him to North Carolina, Vietnam, Okinawa, Hawaii, and the National Capital Region from where he retired in 1992 as a Lt. Col. He made many friends out of his fellow Marines, many of these friendships lasting long past his retirement. In 1995 Bill graduated from The Catholic University of America with a PhD in History with a focus on the Civil War and Reconstruction. An avid reader with an extensive library, Bill read just under 1,000 books in his retirement alone. Known for being dedicated, hard-working, and dependable, these traits served him well in both his military career and his personal life. A man of great principle, conviction, and character, Bill was a role model to all who knew him.

In his retirement, Bill enjoyed trips to France with Nikki, attending daily Mass, watching his beloved Michigan Wolverines football team with Darrell, making Polish Christmas bread with Veronique, and watching his grandchildren grow.

Visitation will take place on January 23, 2024, from 5pm to 8pm at Money & King Funeral Home, 171 Maple Avenue W., Vienna, Virginia 22180. A Rosary will be said at the funeral home.

A Traditional Requiem Mass will be offered at 10am on January 24, 2024, at St. Athanasius, 9201 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia 22182. The burial will follow at National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico, 18424 Joplin Road, Triangle, Virginia 22172.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Bill’s name to either of his favorite charities: The Wounded Warrior Project https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital https://www.stjude.org/

Services

Visitation: January 23, 2024 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Money and King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA 22180

703-938-7440

Mass of Christian Burial : January 24, 2024 10:00 am

St. Athanasius Church
9201 Leesburg Pike
Vienna, VA 22183

703-938-7440

Cemetery: January 24, 2024 1:00 pm

Quantico National Cemetery
18424 Joplin Rd.
Triangle, VA 22172

703-221-2183
https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/quantico.asp

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Guestbook

  1. The Owners and Staff at the Money and King Funeral Home, wish to express our sincere sympathy to you. It is our hope that we may be able to make a difficult time more bearable. Please feel free to call us anytime as we are always available to you.

    Bob Gallagher
    Funeral Director

    • Bob
      I have nothing but praises for you and your Staff.From the beginning to the end, your caring solicitude, your efficient management , your willingness to go the extra mile to please us in our bereavement was most appreciated. It has been a pleasure to have known you.Nicole Platz.

  2. I met Bill at Catholic University when we were graduate students and did our coursework together. I knew that when I sat across from him at a seminar table in the basement of Gibbons Hall, he would be the best prepared student in the room, who would offer insightful analysis of the assigned work and be dogged in defense of his arguments. Discussions were spirited but never disrespectful. Treasured memories include the hospitality I enjoyed at the Platz family home, where I was a most grateful recipient of the gourmet meals prepared by Nikki. I can’t think back on those days without remembering Bill and what a good colleague and friend he was throughout.
    May you find comfort in the words of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Faith lifts the staggering soul on one side, hope supports it on the other, experience says it must be and love says let it be.
    In prayer and sympathy,

    Tricia Pyne

  3. I and my family dearly miss our beloved cousin, Bill. We grew up together. As a kid, Bill was always considerate of the others, was the peacemaker and negotiator, fun-loving, just an all-around good kid that everyone loved. He never lost those qualities and grew up to be a good man. While all live in different parts of the country, our deep affection for Bill, the many memories we share, and the love of our family connections will forever remain in our hearts.

  4. Our warmest thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Platz and Bill’s family. Bill was ever polite, kind and especially appreciative of my fixing “his kneeler” at church. I am glad that I knew him and I appreciated his faith, love of family and strong defense of our priest. May he rest in peace.

  5. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. May you remember to hold tight to your memories. They will be with you forever, keeping your loved one close for the rest of your days.

  6. Bill and Nikki were dear friends of my parents a wonderful to our family. Two things that stood out about Bill were his appreciation and absolute devotion to what he knew were great gifts placed in his life. He valued his role as husband, father, grandfather, and friend and lived up to it – and he valued his Faith. He lived his last years most devoted to God through his own efforts to preserve and defend the Truths of the Catholic faith and its Traditions. My children and I were able to visit Bill as his illness progressed. Bill had the faith of a child as could be easily seen in the pure hope and joy in his eyes, by all of us present at the time. I won’t forget that look in his eyes and his absolute confidence in the goodness and providence of God. He will be missed!


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