William “Bill” Hartley Brill

April 25, 1944 – August 30, 2026

William “Bill” Hartley Brill, 82, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 30, 2026, at Valley Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bill was born on April 25, 1944, in Marion County, Indiana, to Paul and Anna Brill. He grew up alongside his sister, Bernice Stackhouse, and his brother, Paul “Butch” Brill. Bill graduated from Tucson High School in 1962 and, shortly afterward, began a life of service when he joined the United States Navy in May 1963. He proudly served his country until his honorable discharge in July 1967.

During his Navy career, Bill served as an electronics technician and operated cryptographic equipment. He was stationed in the Mediterranean aboard the USS Little Rock (CLG-4), an experience that became the source of many of the stories he loved to share throughout his life. His years in the Navy remained an important part of who he was, and he never seemed to run short of a story about his adventures at sea and in port.

Bill was a man who loved working with his hands. Throughout his life he worked as a handyman, craftsman, and woodworker, always finding something to build, repair, improve, or create. Even after retiring, he stayed busy helping neighbors and making useful furniture and other things for the people he loved. For Bill, there was always something worth fixing and almost always a way to make something better.

Bill also had a fondness for sailboats. At one point in his life, he owned a sailboat of his own, although, in true Bill fashion, he never actually got around to sailing it. He seemed to enjoy the idea of the boat as much as the boat itself—a fitting reflection of a fascination with the sea and the adventures that came with it.

He also enjoyed old Western movies and music from the 1950s, 1960s, and some of the 1970s. But perhaps what Bill enjoyed most was people. He was full of stories, loved to joke, and was never afraid to tell a tall tale if it meant getting a laugh. Those who knew him may remember his insistence that he was currently a professional dancer for Chippendales or that he had worked for the NSA while serving in the Navy. Whether those stories were entirely true was often beside the point. Bill enjoyed pulling people's legs, and he enjoyed even more seeing whether they would believe him. Whatever story he told, he always told it like he was there and often forgot you were not.

Bill was married three times, to Maria Lorena Corrales Zavala, Maria R. Grimaldo and then, in 1996, to the love of his life, Mary Susan “Sue” Brill. Sue preceded him in death, and Bill's family finds comfort knowing that he will now be reunited with her.

Bill is survived by his brother, Paul “Butch” Brill; his daughters, Pamela Ann Brill and Bernice Marie Brill-Hill, and her husband, Brandon E. Hill; his stepson, Kevin Pitts; and his grandson, Paul Alexander “Alex” Brill. He was preceded in death by his parents, Paul J. Brill and Anna M. Brill; his sister, Bernice Stackhouse; his former spouse, Maria Grimaldo; and his beloved wife, Mary Susan “Sue” Brill.

Bill will be remembered for his generous hands, his love of building and fixing things, his Navy stories, his fascination with the sea, his sense of humor, and his ability to keep people guessing whether the story he was telling was true.

A private memorial will be held by the family in Laughlin, Nevada, by invitation only. There, Bill and Sue will finally be together again, with their ashes and wedding rings combined and placed in a location that held special meaning to them both.

After a lifetime of stories, adventures, laughter, and love, Bill has one final story to tell—and this time, he gets to tell it alongside Sue.