Distinguished Alumnus
Class of 2025

William L. "Bill" Moody
(September 25, 1949 – February 16, 2021)

AHS Class of 1967

Few at Arcola High School recognized Bill Moody’s potential for his extraordinary life’s work, as it was masked by his calm demeanor and quiet humility. His ability to understand how things work and solve problems at a young age would ultimately change the profile of the Chicago skyline.

William Lee Moody, son of first grade teacher Dorothy Crocker Moody and Merle Moody, a farmer, was born September 25, 1949. Raised on their farm near Galton, he learned to work with his father, pondered ways to improve farm equipment and guided his three younger sisters Mary, Marilyn and Connie. Bill joined the Arcola Boy Scouts at a young age and attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1963.

Bill’s leadership and service continued at Arcola High School where he was senior class vice-president, football co-captain, Lettermen’s Club president, Student Council representative and a four-year distance runner in track. He also participated in Industrial Arts Club, Junior Engineering Technical Society, Library Club, the senior class play and was chosen to represent his senior class on the Christmas Court. In his junior year at AHS, Bill designed his family’s new home at 711 North Locust Street, which became the Moody family center for the next forty years.

In the fall of 1967, Bill continued his education at the University of Illinois, where he was a member of Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity. He completed his degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1971. While a student at the U of I, Bill met Cleta Scheibel, a Business major, and they were married in O’Fallon, Illinois, on November 25, 1972. Their son, Ryan, was born in 1978 and their daughter, Tera, in 1980.

Bill began his career as a construction manager in Chicago and Ohio before joining The John Buck Company in Chicago in 1984. In the next twenty-six years, his award-winning work with this premier commercial real estate development company changed the Chicago skyline as he also developed other projects around the world. Bill traveled to Japan to collaborate with renowned Japanese architect Kenzo Tange on the American Medical Association building constructed in Chicago in 1990, and to China and the Middle East as he pursued projects for The John Buck Company. He was most proud of the towers at 515 North State Street and 1 North Wacker Drive in Chicago, with the latter recognized as “Development of the Year” at the 14th Annual Greater Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards in 2002. Bill’s sustainable design of the building at 111 South Wacker Drive became the first-ever project certified LEED-CS Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council. His other prominent works include buildings at 180 North LaSalle Street in Chicago, The Standard Hotel in New York and the Al-Maryah Island Development in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

An impressive and extensive list of awards honoring Bill’s work include recognitions by both the Illinois and Chicago chapters of the American Institute of Architects, Structural Engineers Association of Illinois, Chicago Commercial Real Estate, City of Chicago, Chicago Building Congress, Friends of Downtown and the Chicago chapter of National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Other honors were bestowed by the New York City Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, International Association of Lighting Designers and Crystal Achievement.

Bill retired in 2010 after amassing the respect and admiration of so many in his profession. He had been labeled “the Godfather of Construction in Chicago” by a colleague and others had learned “it can’t fall down” was his first rule of construction. His mentorship had been extended to many professionals in the design, engineering and construction industry in Chicago and beyond.

In addition to his remarkable career, Bill always found time for his family in their St. Charles, Illinois, community. He was den leader for Ryan’s Boy Scout troop and also a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts of America. Bill enjoyed Ryan and Tera’s sporting events and later followed Tera’s career internationally as a professional distance runner. He became a golfer in his 40s in order to enjoy the sport with his son.

In retirement, Bill and Cleta welcomed family and friends to their new home on St. George Island, Florida. With more time to pursue other interests, Bill took up walking in his 60s, logging 20,000 miles in his daily walks over a ten year period. His passion for natural lands and environmental preservation led to his longtime membership and support of the Apalachicola Riverkeepers. In 2015, Bill established the Moody Family Foundation for the conservation of America’s rivers and game lands.

Bill and Cleta shared more than forty-eight years together before his passing on February 16, 2021, surrounded by his family in Naples, Florida. His children had learned their father was smart, competitive and determined, a legacy that will be shared with Bill and Cleta’s four grandchildren. Friends, family and high school classmates remember Bill as a self-made man of few words and great generosity, whose kindness was rooted in his family and extended to friends and colleagues throughout his life.