William Blausey, 1930-2012: Ex-Woodville firm’s leader built highways

12/26/2012

WOODVILLE, Ohio — William Blausey, a retired civil engineer who was co-owner of the former W.H. Blausey Inc., an earth-moving and highway-construction business, died Wednesday in Hospice of Northwest Ohio, Perrysburg Township. He was 82.

Mr. Blausey died of lung cancer, said Marian Blausey, his wife of 62 years. She said the cancer was diagnosed five months ago.

Along with his older brother John, he owned and operated W.H. Blausey Inc., which their father, Walter, founded.

William Blausey took the title of president and his brother was the firm’s secretary-treasurer after the retirement of their father, who died in 1997.

“I was trained as an accountant and he was trained as an engineer,” said John Blausey, of Sylvania. The Woodville business maintained a fleet of heavy-construction and earth-moving equipment and had as many as 40 employees during construction season.

W.H. Blausey specialized in moving and building up dirt to create highways, overpasses, and ditches. It put down the concrete and pavement for highway projects and developed reservoirs.

Among its projects were I-475 from Corey Road to U.S. 23 in Sylvania Township in the late 1960s, sections of U.S. 30 in central Ohio and I-75 in Wood County, and highway projects in Indiana and Kentucky.

The company built reservoirs near Fostoria and Willard.

Mrs. Blausey said her husband often worked at job sites and got the reputation of being the company’s troubleshooter.

“He was a very good diplomat with people,” she said. “He smoothed over a lot of hard feelings, which was necessary a lot of times.”

During the off season, the company repaired and maintained equipment in a building the Blauseys constructed in Woodville, John Blausey said. The brothers sold off the equipment and retired in 1995.

The former Marian Geisbuhler said she attended the same grade and high schools as Mr. Blausey, but they not begin dating until after high school. They were married Sept. 2, 1950.

A 1948 graduate of Woodville High School, Mr. Blausey studied engineering at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1952, and then moved to St. Louis with his young family, working on military fighters for McDonnell Aircraft Corp.

At his father’s request, he returned to Woodville in 1956 to join the family business, his wife and brother said.

Mr. Blausey was active in Solomon Lutheran Church, where he was an usher and served on the endowment and finance committees.

In retirement, he picked up golf and traveled with his wife to most of the 50 states plus Ontario and British Columbia in Canada. The couple also spent part of their winters in Sanibel Island, Fla.

Surviving are his wife, Marian; daughters, Cheryl Heisler and Barbara LaBriere; son, William Blausey, Jr.; brother, John Blausey; seven grandchildren, and one great grandson.

Visitation is from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday in the Marsh Funeral Home, Woodville. Services are at 11 a.m. Saturday in Solomon Lutheran Church, Woodville.

The family suggests tributes to Solomon Lutheran School or to the Solomon Lutheran Endowment Fund.