William Haupt Zeevalk

William "Bill" Zeevalk, 71, was born Saturday, May 1, 1948 in Montclair, New Jersey. Although he did suffer from multiple health conditions over the last 10 years, it was an incredibly rare, aggressive infection that found him and spread quickly, which resulted in him taking his final, peaceful breath with family by his side, on Sunday, January 26, 2020. Bill was one in a million… 1.7 to 1 million, in fact; as this is one of the sad but known statistics regarding the number of people who contract this merciless infection, which took this wonderful man we all loved within a time span of less than a week from time of diagnosis.

Bill grew up in West Orange, New Jersey where he enjoyed a childhood of growing up with 2 brothers, Bob and Dave, and a sister, Nancy. His parents, George and Barbara, provided their family with love and care, memorable family vacations to Massachusetts and the Jersey shore every summer, and reared their children to believe in the Lord. They were faithful attendees every Sunday morning at First Presbyterian Church of Orange, where both his parents taught Sunday School and encouraged their children to forge a close, lasting relationship in God and their Savior, Jesus Christ. Along with the love and care, it would be doing a disservice to not add that the Zeevalk household also was known for its fair share of drama and entertainment. Having 4 kids within a time span of only 5 years meant that there was always love and support, and never a shortage of sibling rivalry.

The Lord knew that Bill was meant to be born on May 1st, as I can only imagine how many times "MayDay… MayDay" was thought by many who knew little Billie as a child and teenager. As a typical boy, he loved sports and was an impressive athlete, excelling in high school track and cross-country. In addition to sports, Bill was blessed with the gift of music. He was a savant with laying fingers on a piano or organ keys and play songs from memory. He also was an accomplished trumpet player and had a wonderful voice singing tenor who toured around the country during his college years in the All-American Band. Bill graduated from Buena Vista College in Stormlake, Iowa in 1970.

There was never a shortage of antics and laughter if Bill was around. A family gathering that involved Bill, his brother Dave, and cousin, Bill Happel, meant for numerous opportunities where wise cracks, ball-busting, and belly-holding laughter followed by streams of tears and soiled underwear were a typical occurrence. He was naturally funny and had a knack for never taking life too seriously.

In June 1978, Bill married his true love, Sandy, and welcomed two children into their life; daughter, Becky in July 1980, and son, John in February 1982. He was a dedicated, hardworking husband and father who always made time for his wife and children no matter how exhausted he was, working 3 times at one point to make ends meet. After being laid off from his sales job in the carpeting business in 1989 in New Jersey, he decided to pursue a job that would impact he and his family by making a life-altering move that would result in a love affair with a certain Mouse for over 25 years.

On July 1, 1989, Bill started his first day working for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It was a job uniquely meant for him. His new working environment afforded him many different opportunities to brighten the day of thousands of park guests as a Disney cast member. As a big kid himself in an adult body, he got great satisfaction out of bringing smiles and happiness to many children and their families enjoying a day at the Magic Kingdom, Disney golf courses and Sports Complex. Never one to back down from a challenge, he even recruited both his kids to work with him at Disney's Sports Complex. To this day, it's hard to say who was more the glutton for punishment. Bill enjoyed being able to take his family to the various Disney parks. On many occasions, when asked to get a friend or family member into a Disney park, Bill would go out of his way and seek out a newly married couple or a single parent with a child at the entrance to the park and get them into the Disney park for free because he could get up to 3 people and himself into a Disney theme park, saving the grateful newlyweds or single parent and child from having to purchase Disney's pricey tickets. Though he could be quite stubborn and bullheaded, he had a heart for helping others and those whom he loved dearly.

After suffering from declining health over an extended length of time, Bill decided to hang up his Mickey Mouse ears for good in 2016 and retired from Walt Disney World after nearly 27 years of employment. As he had an uncanny knack for knowing when to play at just the right time, Bill enjoyed his new part-time job of playing lottery scratch-offs and winning 90% of the time. In addition to scratch-offs, he enjoyed swimming daily, fishing as often as possible and being Opa to his 2 granddaughters, Lexi and Khloe.

Though life did not deal Bill an easy hand, he was blessed with the qualities of integrity, dedication and persistence. Despite his failing health, he could make any day better with just a glance from his crystal blue eyes and dimpled smile. Though not blessed with great physical height, to his family and friends who knew him most he was a gentle giant. He was a wonderful son, brother, husband, father and friend who will be tremendously missed, but never forgotten.

In lieu of flowers, Bill's family has asked that donations in his name be made to the American Heart Association.