William Lee Campbell

William (Bill) Lee Campbell will always be remembered as a man of strength, intelligence, integrity and above all, honesty. He passed away peacefully at Sunrise of Leawood on May 18, 2020 at age 88.

Bill was born in 1931 to William Sr. and Madge Campbell in Kansas City, Missouri. A lifelong KC resident, he graduated from East High School and then went on to attend Rockhurst University, earning an Associate Arts degree in Business. While serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1951-1955, Bill was stationed in Darmstadt, Germany and responsible for interpreting intelligence communications in the USAF Security Operations division. It was on a weekend furlough to Barcelona, Spain, he met the love of his life, Marion, on the beach, when she came over and asked him the time. She visited him in Germany, and they wrote each other countless letters, until he ultimately asked her to be his wife and move to the United States. Together, they raised two beautiful daughters, Carmen and Karyn, who were his pride and joy.

Bill was a hard-working man, dedicated to his job at Hallmark Cards, Inc. until retirement. During his 44 year career with Hallmark, he worked his way up from the card cutting room floor to overseeing their data processing division, where his love of computers began. In his home office, you could always find him tinkering on his machines, creating spreadsheets or simply enjoying a game of solitaire. He thoroughly enjoyed new technology and had a great business sense, and he was always happy to share his passions to help his son-in-laws with their businesses or his grandchildren with their schoolwork.

Bill enjoyed traveling with Marion, whether it was to visit their daughter, Karyn, in California or to spend time with her family in Spain. He loved their visits to California, so he could watch his grandchildren play sports and banter about rival football teams with his son-in-law. He always fondly recalled the numerous summers they spent in Sitges, Spain, where he enjoyed seeing his nephews, going to the beach and dining at his favorite restaurant, the Mare Nostrom. He also relished in planning trips for his family to be all together, and his children and grandchildren have great memories of their holidays in Maui. Because he loved doing so many generous things for his family, a special memory for them was planning a surprise trip to Monterey, California to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary to Marion. The entire family joined together for a celebratory dinner at Roy’s restaurant in Pebble Beach.

Bill had many hobbies and passions. He was an avid Chiefs fan and season ticket holder for years. He loved shopping for new cars, dining out at his favorite restaurants and listening to disco music. After retirement, he took up golfing and enjoyed spending time on the course with his buddies and grandchildren. He even got a hole-in-one once at a local course and was completely shocked yet satisfied as an amateur golfer! He had great admiration for the Air Force and enjoyed reconnecting with his friends from the RSM while planning and attending many of the RSM reunions.

Bill was always a gentleman with the utmost integrity. He was a very loving and devoted son, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Bill is survived by his two daughters and sons-in-law, Carmen (Mike) Sambursky and Karyn (Casey) Lewis, his 5 grandchildren, Candice Cooper, Cristina Mank, Deryk Lewis, Brett Lewis and Krista Lewis and 4 great-grandchildren, Ava, Adyson, Mia and Harrison. He also leaves behind his nephews in Spain and extended family that will truly mourn the loss of such an upstanding man. He was the best father two girls could ever have, but there is comfort in knowing he is reunited with the love of his life, Marion. Bill’s strong discipline, willingness to help his family and love for his family will truly be missed.

A private service is being held by family.

A private service is being held by family.