was born on November 22, 1932 in St.
Louis, MO during the midst of the Great Depression. He was the son
of Louise Norder and Daniel Joseph Almon. He started wearing a
uniform as a cadet at Christian Brothers College High School and was
a member of the 5th Army Championship Junior ROTC Rifle Team. He
entered West Point on his second appointment, having failed the
first, just as the Korean War erupted.
He found the Academy to
be academically challenging as a plebe, but the Cross Country Team
was his salvation and provided him an opportunity to compete. Later
he took advantage of the Debate Council to sponsor national
trips on which he eventually found the
sweetheart of Sigma Chi, Susan Moore,
to be his graduation date and eventual
wife. They were married on June 11, 1955 at Our Lady of Lourdes
Church in University City, MO.
In so many other ways the
Academy shaped his later life. The fixed curriculum
forced him to take courses he
abhorred, while the continuous academic ranking forced him to
recognize his limits and the greater ability of others.
Upon graduation he
entered the Signal Corps, joining the 11th Airborne
Division at Fort Campbell, KY. After a
year as the Signal Company Supply Officer and unit rotation to
Augsburg, Germany, he transferred to the Infantry looking for more
action and leadership, which he found. However, being still a
lieutenant with a growing family, he eventually resigned his
commission and returned to the States. During his brief military
career, he earned his Expert Infantry and Parachutist Badges and a
National Defense Service Medal.
Making the rounds,
William found that few recruiters were impressed by a
rifle platoon leader resume. He
searched for several months, finally landing at IBM as a sales
trainee. That was the start of an exciting 30-year IBM career, going
from manager to director to executive assistant to the president and
beyond. Many challenges were met moving IBM into the Federal
Systems, Storage Systems, Enterprise & Market Development Software,
OEM Hardware, and Low End Storage Devices.
After retiring from IBM
he was invited to become the President of Conner
Peripherals, which became the fastest
company to reach the Fortune 500 at
the time. He then bought a division of
Nashua in a leveraged buyout and later
founded Grandis, which pioneered
magnetic random access memory (MRAM). The company was eventually
purchased by Samsung. Along the way he became a
board member of Sigma Designs, Read
Rite, Electronic Industries Association, and others.
The Christian Brothers
honored his many years of service and generosity by
naming him an Affiliated Member of the
Brothers of the Christian Schools. The award recognized his
long-standing support to less fortunate families and
students seeking a Christian Brothers
education throughout the greater St. Louis
metropolitan area.
During his life he
remained a grateful graduate and gave back to the Academy
as a class officer, AOG Trustee,
member of the Distinguished Graduate Award
Committee, the Bicentennial Campaign
Committee, and the Major Giving
Committee chair. He was a member of
the U.S. Grant Society, and the donor of
Remington paintings to the West Point
Museum. Be Thou at Peace.
