H. William "Bill"

Feder, PhD

H. William “Bill” Feder, devoted father and grandfather, teacher, historian, Army Ranger, and lifelong son of Niagara Falls, died November 8, 2026, surrounded by his family. He was 93. Bill married the love of his life, Beverley, on August 22, 1964, at Terrapin Point in Niagara Falls, and they shared 62 years together.

Bill was born June 29, 1933, in Niagara Falls, N.Y., the son of Florence and Harold Feder. He spent his life studying, teaching, and preserving the history of the city where he was born.

Bill was a proud American. During the Korean War, he signed up to serve his country. He completed basic training at Fort Carson, Colorado, then went on to complete Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, earning the distinction of Ranger. He continued to serve as a Ranger with Company F while stationed at Fort Carson, rose to the rank of sergeant, and later taught at the Army’s Leadership Academy. After completing his service as a Ranger, he served three more years in the Army Reserve as a master sergeant.

His service didn’t end when he took off the uniform. He served his community as a Niagara County Legislator for over 20 years, chairing several legislative committees, and ran for both Congress and the New York State Senate. He believed that taking part in local government was one of the most important ways to serve one’s country.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Buffalo State College and two master’s degrees from Niagara University, one in history and one in education. In 2000, he completed his Ph.D. in the History of Education at SUNY Buffalo.

He taught generations of students at LaSalle Junior and Senior High Schools in Niagara Falls, coached wrestling, boxing, and debate, served as an acting principal, and was named School Master of the Year. He was a past president of the Niagara Falls Teachers Association. Later, he taught as an adjunct professor at Niagara University, Niagara County Community College, the University at Buffalo, and Empire State College.

Nothing made Bill happier than sharing the history of Niagara County with others. As the county’s public historian, he created the Niagara Historic Trail so that anyone could walk through the stories he loved, and he wrote the guidebook that took them there. The trail’s motto, “Hail the Trail!”, caught on, and for years students and people around town greeted him with it, which delighted him every time. He also wrote about the city’s East Side, where people from many different backgrounds came together as one neighborhood. That story mattered deeply to him.

Bill loved Niagara Falls: its neighborhoods, its people, and the stories they carried. He started the Niagara County Storytelling Festival, chaired the Ethnic Heritage Preservation Committee at the Niagara Falls Public Library, and was rarely without his camera. His photo exhibits included the Greater Niagara Ballet, which he documented for four decades, and Chief Clinton Rickard of the Tuscarora Nation. He loved to write, had a deep love of poetry, and loved his music. He was honored to write the foreword to The Mighty Quinn by his close friend John Quinn. He was proud of his Irish heritage, and he loved a good Irish whiskey.

Bill made friends wherever he went, and he often ended a conversation with “Thank you, my friend.” He told his children and grandchildren to make as many friends as they could in life, and he showed them how. He never met a dog he didn’t like and kept a pocketful of treats for any that might come along.

Summers meant camping at Sherkston Shores with his family. He went sailing, drove his dune buggies, slept out on the picnic tables, and took his kids on one adventure after another. The rest of the year, he spent many happy hours walking the DeVeaux fields with his dogs, his kids and grandkids, and his wife, always with one of the walking sticks he had collected on his travels. But for all the history he loved, his family was the center of his world, and at the heart of it was Beverley. He was driving tours around Niagara Falls when a young woman working at a hot dog stand caught his eye, and to the very end, he still called her his bride.

Bill is survived by his wife, Beverley Feder; his children, Colleen (Jeff) Rohde, Kevin (Kamie) Feder, and Cara (Kent) Schrack; and his grandchildren, Matthiew, Gabriella, and Lanie Feder, Zachary and Kelsey Rohde, and Ben and Cameron Schrack, as well as several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Florence and Harold Feder, and his sisters, Katherine Metro and Maryann Westlund.

Visitation will be held Sunday, November 22, from 3 – 6 PM at M.J. Colucci & Son Niagara Funeral Chapel, 2730 Military Road, Niagara Falls, where funeral services will begin on Monday, November 23 at 9:00 AM, followed by Bill’s Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 AM in Niagara University’s Alumni Chapel, 5795 Lewiston Rd, Niagara University, NY 14109. Entombment with Military honors will be held in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Lewiston, NY.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Bill’s memory to the Wounded Warrior Project (Wounded Warrior Project), or the Hospice Foundation of America (hospicefoundation.org). Visit mjcoluccifuneralchapel.com for online condolences.