William Leonard Dautzenberg

“Bill“ passed away June 4, 2026 after a long illness.  Son of Mathias Dautzenberg and Elizabeth Franssen, born in Eygelshoven, the Netherlands. Pre-deceased by parents and brother Tony.  Survived by sister Tecla MacDonald (Mike), son Dennis Dautzenberg (Jill), grandson Brett Dautzenberg (Laura) (great grandchildren Alyn and Cain); and Brooks Dautzenberg (Quinci); son Michael Dautzenberg (Kimberly) and grandchildren Joel, Jesse and Sarah Dautzenberg; wife Tonina Dautzenberg Brunz; stepdaughter Keli Thompson (Bob), granddaughters Avery (Jonathan Rush), Devon and Sydney Thompson; stepson Lee Brunz (Sarah Sanford) and grandchildren Janet and Henry Brunz.  And several nieces, nephews and cousins.

In The Netherlands, Bill enjoyed extensive family and Dutch traditions.  His family endured Nazi occupation and he never forgot the kindness of American troops staying in their home for R&R. He survived diphtheria in the NL.   The family moved to Warwick, Australia, in 1951 and Bill finished his schooling there, participating in high school sports and winning medals in swimming competitions.  Kidney failure as a teen put him in the hospital for a year.  He felt the sting of discrimination because his family were immigrants and attended a school with severe punishments.  He completed a carpenter apprenticeship after high school graduation and worked in his father’s company building houses. 

The family immigrated to the United States in 1961 and lived in St. Louis, Missouri before settling in Florida.  Bill worked in a major hotel in St. Louis a few years and moved on to construction as a journeyman carpenter.  He became an American citizen July 5, 1972 and loved reminiscing about that day of celebration.

              His trade took him to Illinois and he worked extensively in Chicago and surrounding areas.   He also became self-employed during that time.  His woodworking skills were appreciated and he very much enjoyed designing and creating cabinetry, trim and new projects for his clients. The Chicago Bears was his favorite team.  He moved to Oregon in 1990 and met Tonina Brunz, the love of his life; they married in 1992. He happily continued his trade as Encore Woodworks in Portland for 20 years—your door to applause quality.

Bill was very outgoing and thrived on meeting new people and having conversations with total strangers.  He loved interacting with family members and doing things with them. He enjoyed fishing, watching sports, holidays, and pets. He liked action films and was curious about outer space, especially future exploration.  He loved Christmas and Oregon’s geographic diversity.  e loved Christmas and OPortlandHe He appreciated risk takers, hard workers, open discussions, debate, cars and good jokes.  He was a medical miracle!  In his later years he created a model train setup, complete with locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, mountains, a river and farm scene.  It was fun watching his trains go through the tunnel and switch tracks on command. 

He was intelligent--a survivor and a problem solver--sometimes a curmudgeon, sometimes funny.  He had many stories to tell  and they were all true! 

A complex man with a big heart and a bigger smile, Bill touched many lives.

(At his request no public services will be held.  To honor him, donations to the Assistance League of Greater Portland, the Oregon Food Bank or Oregon Humane Society are suggested.)

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