Alumnus Bill Bair Has Led a Life of Service and Leadership Around the Globe

From his youth in York to a military career and retirement in Colorado, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) William Bair ’72 has lived a life defined by service to his country and community.

At 5 a.m. on a spring morning in 1972, William Bair ’72 and fellow York College of Pennsylvania swim team members Scott Hafer ’72 and Brayton Robison ’73 climbed down into the College pool, intent on breaking the Guinness World Record for treading water. For 18 hours, the trio bobbed, kicked, and swayed. At 11 p.m., with a crowd cheering from the sidelines, they pulled themselves out of the water, tired but triumphant. 

While York College’s first intercollegiate varsity swim team members didn’t hold the Guinness World Record title for long, the mindset of focus and perseverance left a lasting mark on Bair. 

College and Car Payments

A William Penn High School graduate, Class of 1968, Bair originally planned to attend college farther from home. Right before his senior year of high school, though, he bought a 1968 Ford Mustang. Faced with a $66 monthly car payment, he knew he couldn’t cover tuition, room, and board. Several of his friends were pursuing Business Management degrees at York College, so Bair decided to follow suit. He commuted from home, worked to pay off the car, and began a new chapter that would shape the rest of his life.

During his sophomore year, he met his wife, and by the start of his junior year, they were married and living just a short drive from campus. This year, the couple is celebrating 55 years of marriage, with five children, 16 grandchildren, and their first great-grandchild on the way.

A Post-College Commission

While earning his degree in Business Management, Bair became increasingly aware of the world beyond the classroom. The Vietnam War was at its peak, and the nation was deeply divided. He also noticed that college students carried themselves differently after military service. 

“I saw the veterans who returned. They were different. They had a maturity and experience that changed them,” he says.

Bair joined the Marine Corps through the Platoon Leaders Class—a program for college students who want to become Marine Corps officers—while still working on his undergraduate degree. He trained during the summers at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation in 1972. That began Bair’s 23-year military career, spanning the four Marine Aircraft Wings, multiple international deployments, and leadership roles around the globe. Along the way, he also earned his Master’s in Business Administration and Management from Webster University, then called Webster College,  in 1979 while simultaneously serving in the Marine Corps. 

He spent five years in the Far East, including Japan, Okinawa, Indonesia, Korea, and the Philippines, before serving in Norway and Denmark. Near the end of his Marine Corps career, he taught at the U.S. Air Force Air War College, training officers to deploy Marine Corps assets in combat scenarios. 

“It just has an impact on you, from the standpoint of your development,” he says of his time as an officer in the Marine Corps. “You’re given a lot of responsibilities right out of college that you wouldn’t be able to have otherwise.” 

A Focus on Service and Growth

Upon retiring from the military in 1994, Bair transitioned into public education, working in Texas and Colorado Springs. As Executive Director of Facilities, Operations, and Transportation for Colorado Springs School District, he oversaw capital projects, school maintenance, and logistics for a large and complex system.

“It was like running a squadron,” he says. “The key to any successful operation is good people. You set the mission, and they execute it.”

Now 10 years into retirement from his second career, Bair’s schedule remains packed with purpose. Most mornings, he wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to swim at his local YMCA, still pushing two miles per session. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he volunteers weekly at Catholic Charities’ Marian House. He serves at his temple’s FamilySearch Center, helping others trace their ancestry.

“Service is the key word. Service to others, service to your community, and service to your nation,” he says, drawing on a favorite biblical scripture from Luke 2:52. “Spirit, mind, body, and social—if you work those together in your life, it will round out the corners, and that will make a full circle of your life.”