William Morton Pontz Jr.

Oct 2, 1915 - Dec 31, 1988

A longtime president of First Federal Savings and Loan Association died Saturday night in Kalamazoo. William M. Pontz, of 726 Garland Circle, died at Bronson Methodist Hospital. He was 73. Pontz was born Oct. 2, 1915, in South Bend, Ind., to William M. and Edna Pontz. He graduated from South Bend Central High School 1933 and received a law degree in 1939 from Indiana University, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi and Sigma Pi fraternities.

On May 11, 1940, he married Lois E. Lawson. She died in May 1988.

Pontz came to Kalamazoo in 1940 as an insurance claims adjuster for the Western Adjustment and Inspection Co. In 1941, he was admitted to the practice of law in Michigan, and joined the firm of Mason and Stratton. He practiced law here until being commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1943. He served in the Pacific until 1946, the same year he joined First Federal as a legal representative. Pontz was promoted to executive vice president of the thrift in 1949, and was elected president in November 1953, a position he held until his retirement in November 1980.

Pontz was a member of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Savings and Loan League from 1962 to 1964, a member of the Kalamazoo Board of Education from 1957 to 1961, a member of the Board of Governors of the Kalamazoo Country Club and a member of the state and county bar association. Pontz also was a life member of Lodge 513 of the F&AM, and helped establish a chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity at Western Michigan University, serving as the chapter's financial adviser.

Surviving are three daughters, Susan E. White of Kalamazoo, Barbara A. Fournier of Grand Rapids and Lucinda K. Talbot of Mt. Vernon, Maine; six grandchildren; and his longtime friend, Margaret Haug of Kalamazoo.

Mr. Pontz has been cremated.

Visitation will be 7 to 9 p.m. today. A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Truesdale Funeral Home, Westnedge at Milham.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or a charity of choice.

The Kalamazoo Gazette Kalamazoo, MI, 03 Jan 1989

Sources: Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com and FindAGrave.com

09/28/2026 EJS

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89461473/william-morton-pontz