William Kobus

In January 1939, William Kobus was brought into this world by Helen Hanson and Michael Kobus in the city of Duluth Minnesota. He would be the oldest to his siblings John, Rick, Donald and their much younger sister Gail. Bill spent his childhood in Duluth and he attended Duluth Central High School, on the hill.

In 1957, Bill started a job at the Duluth Tribune, there he met a lovely young lady by the name of Rosemary Hubert, they worked together at the Tribune for two years. Rosemary decided to move to Anchorage, Alaska in 1959 by herself and lived with her cousin. She found a job working for the Anchorage Times. Soon after Rosemary’s move, Bill moved with his family to Omaha, Nebraska. His mother Helen, worked for Western Electric, and Bill got a job working for the electric company too. Bill spent his time working and more importantly, trying to get a hold of Rosemary, he wanted her to marry him. In the same year of 1959, Bill sold his truck and bought himself a one way airline ticket to Anchorage and went to find Rosemary. She did not know Bill was coming; they married in February 1960. They were married for 67 years as of this February, 2026.

Bill started a job working for the US Postal Service as a mail carrier shortly after they married; and before he and Rosemary started their own family. By 1966, their home and hearts were full and busy with four young children; Judith, Michael, Christian, and Mathew.

The US Postal Service could see that Bill was an asset to their team. For the next several years, he was promoted to various upper level management positions. With each promotion, Bill moved his family to a new place. The first move was to Wolf Point, then Miles City, then Butte (all in Montana), he also lived in Billings; and another promotion brought him back to Alaska for a year while his family stayed in Butte. He travelled back to his family in Butte (this was always the plan) and he moved them back to Alaska by way of the Alcan highway. After these many moves due to Bill’s job, they landed in Pocatello where the Kobus kids spent their teen years and in 1983, they moved to Albuquerque, NM, leaving Mike and Chris behind in Poky. The next move was to SLC, Sandy, Utah, Judy and Mat both stayed in Albuquerque. Bill and Rose then moved to Boise, Idaho where Bill retired in 1991. They built two beautiful homes in the Tetons. One on the Driggs, ID side and the other on the state line, Alta, WY side before finally settling in Idaho Falls years later.

Bill earned an associate of arts degree in business administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1977, a bachelor of business administration degree from Idaho State University in 1981, and a master of public administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1986. He was a senior executive with the US Postal Service, Bill was a postmaster/area manager in Pocatello, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Albuquerque. He is a past president of the Idaho Retired Postmasters of the United States and was honored in 1985 with the Senior Executive US Postal Service Special Achievement Award.

He was a past board member and treasurer of the Teton Valley Health Care Foundation and a past president of Idaho State University’s Alumni Association. He also served as an interim director of the ISU Alumni Association. Bill was one of four lay panel members selected nationally to participate in the 2002-2003 Prostate Cancer Research Program peer review process sponsored by the Department of Defense through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, as he was a survivor. He also survived non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2009.

Bill served as president of the ISU Alumni Association in 2000 and returned in 2008 to serve four years as the office of alumni relations director. Bill and Rosemary have received the ISU President's Medallion Award and are significant supporters of the ISU Alumni Legacy

Scholarship Fund. As well as Lake Superior College which is home of the Rick Kobus Memorial Scholarship. They are supporters of most sports at ISU, and are longtime (48 years and counting) ISU football and basketball season ticket holders. In 2018 Bill and Rosemary Kobus received the Lifetime Achievement award in the ISU Hall of Fame. The same year Bill’s time and donations were recognized as instrumental in enhancing the student-athlete experience for the entire athletic department at ISU.

Bill was always welcoming and supportive of family and friends and even people he didn't know. He has been extremely generous and giving to various foundations in need not only in his home town but all around the world. Bill was incredibly knowledgeable, outgoing, and genuinely generous with the wealth and life skills he built during his lifetime. Every summer Bill would take his immediate family back to his home in Minnesota to spend time with the Kobus’s and Hubert's. This was something all of us looked forward to and we will remember these trips forever! He took all of his children and grandchildren, ages 3 to 14, on a family trip to Disney World, another wonderful memory. He built two beautiful homes on his own, he was good at building roots wherever he moved. Throughout the years, Bill has always made sure his family has been taken care of. The memories that we all have from the experiences and opportunities that he created will last us a lifetime. Bill was very involved in his community, he was a planner, an incredible builder, marathon runner, backpacker, snow skier, golf lover, softball player, traveller, a family man, successful businessman, big time sports enthusiast, a collector, a father, a husband, a grandfather, and he almost met his first great grand daughter, an uncle, a brother, a friend, a neighbor, and much much more.

He passed away February 2026 surrounded by family. His wish is to be cremated like in “The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Stuart Hamblen, a poem of the far north.

Bill is survived by his wife, Rosemary, his children Judith, Michael, Christian, Mathew & wife Rebecca, his brother Donald & wife LuAnn, and sister Gail, his grandchildren, his nieces and nephews, and his extensive network of colleagues and friends.