December 14, 1942 – June 15, 2026

William F. Steadman, Jr. (Bill, Coach, Pop), a resident of Corrales, passed away on Monday, June 15, 2026, at Rust Hospital. He was 83. He is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Margot; son Will (wife Amy); granddaughters Summer and Mia, SIL Cindy Bryant (husband John), nephew Vernon Ford (wife Brenda), SIL Diana Fein (son Eli) and extended family.

Bill was born on December 14, 1942, in Canton, Ohio - home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was a fitting start, as football would shape his life and career for decades to come. From childhood, Bill loved sports of every kind, along with horses and other animals. In high school he was a standout football and baseball player, and it was there he first asked his sweetheart, Margot, to the Junior prom. After high school, he played football at Bowling Green and Iowa State before finishing his degree at Ashland College, where he played baseball and graduated in 1966.

Bill and Margot married in 1965, in Louisville, Ohio, and then moved to New Mexico in 1967. They became enchanted with the state - its scenery, its light, the majesty of the Southwestern landscape - and made Corrales their home for 58 years.

Pop kept a stable of quarter horses in his early years there. He also grew to love the nearby Jemez Mountains, where he fished the small rivers and streams for rainbow and brown trout. Although humble and modest in nature, if prompted, Pop would willingly share his story of landing the largest brown trout ever recorded on the East Fork of the Jemez River.

He coached physical education at local elementary schools and football at high schools across town - Valley, Manzano, West Mesa, and Highland - and was named New Mexico's Head Football Coach of the Year for the 1982 season when at West Mesa. Coach built friendships with his students and players that lasted decades - he stayed in touch with many of them for the rest of his life, and counted some of his closest friendships among former players now in their 60s and 70s. They were and are near and dear to his heart.

After his son grew up playing soccer, Coach began to shift his allegiance from American football to the beautiful game - a sport he came to love watching both Will and his granddaughters play at the collegiate level.

Pop had a gift for making people feel valued and for showing them the goodness he saw in everyone, on the field and off. And although he was a "big guy" with an unmistakable "coaching voice" when he spoke, he definitely had a softer side, shown to some of us on occasion. Those who knew him well have shared warm and wonderful sentiments and have spoken of their gratitude for having had him in their life. If you knew Bill (or knew him as Coach) and would like to honor him, we ask that you consider a donation in his name to CARMA (a no-kill animal shelter in Corrales).

He coached us all, in one way or another. We'll do our best to carry it forward. 

Thank you, Pop, for everything. We love you so very much.