William J. Petrillose, Jr.

William John Petrillose Jr, 65, of Ithaca, NY, died peacefully at Cayuga Medical Center, in the presence of loved ones on December 31, 2017 after a brief illness.



Bill was born in Ithaca on June 3, 1952, the son of the late William J. and Alyce Swanson Petrillose.


He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Susan Browne Williams - Petrillose (step daughter, Stacy Williams of Boston); his son Christopher and wife Kristina Volkert Petrillose, and their twin daughters, Addyson and Brooke, age 6. He is also survived by three sisters Cassandra Ann Petrillose, Jacqueline Petrillose O'Connor and Sherri Rose Petrillose Lipson. Over the years, Bill's family owned several businesses and apartment buildings in downtown Ithaca and Collegetown, including Petrillose Cleaners and Johnny's Big Red Grill.



Bill was a 1970 graduate of Ithaca High School. He was active in the Boy Scouts, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and serving as a scoutmaster. From 1972-1974 he served in the Army as an SP4/Acting Sergeant for the Army-Air Defense. While stationed in Germany, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for "outstanding and meritorious service" as a Forward Area Alert Radar Operator. He also "showed an exceptional aptitude for German/American relations through his understanding of the problems of the local population and ability to develop sound recommendations for their solutions."


Upon his return to Ithaca, Bill worked at various jobs while attending Tompkins-Cortland Community College part-time. He earned an A.S. in Business Administration in 1977. He was employed as Facilities and Transportation manager at Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES, and later as Manager of Maintenance Support for the Tompkins Community Hospital. For nearly 20 years, until his retirement on January 1, 2015, he worked for Ithaca Rentals and Renovations (now Travis-Hyde Properties) as Facilities Manager at Center Ithaca. He has consulted for real estate developers and local businesses, most recently working with David Lubin on the development of Harold's Square on the Ithaca Commons. His contributions to that project will be sorely missed.


A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2017 at 1:30 pm at the Hotel Ithaca (formerly the Holiday Inn), 222 S. Cayuga St., Ithaca with Pastor Robert Foote officiating. Memorial donations, if desired, may be made to the SPCA, 1640 Hanshaw Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. bangsfuneralhome.com

Saturday, January 27, 2018 1:30 PM

Hotel Ithaca 222 S. Cayuga St. Ithaca, NY 14850