Willard Mattson, age 77, a longtime resident of Winfield, IL, died suddenly on Tuesday, May 15, as a result of a stroke. He was born December 19, 1940 in Hartford City, Blackford County, Indiana to Warren and Jayne Mattson.

Bill grew up in Montpelier, Indiana where he graduated from high school in 1958. He attended West Point and went on to graduate from Purdue University. He also earned a MBA from Loyola University. While at Purdue he met Mary Jo Miller and they were married on June 6, 1964. After living in Evanston, they moved to Winfield in 1972.

He worked at Bell & Howell, Xerox and Oracle as an IT consultant traveling extensively to customize software for clients. He retired in 2003. Bill was an early adopter of computer technology. Long before every home had a computer, Bill assembled a kit computer in the early 1970's. Since he loved woodworking, he also made a rosewood enclosure for the keyboard and monitor.

Retirement allowed him to devote more time to the hobbies he loved. Bill was an avid woodworker, creating many pieces of furniture. One such piece was a wooden race car bed he built for his oldest grandchild. It is fire engine red and has wheels that actually spin. He also very much enjoyed photography. He collected many cameras and lenses and could often be seen toting a large camera bag to family events. He combined his love of photography with his love of world travel. He took many beautiful photographs of locations around the world. He was especially fond of cruises and had taken many of them. Bill visited many countries, including Australia, Italy, Germany, England, Iceland, Spain, France, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Wales, and many more. His other passion was genealogy. He spent many hours pouring over genealogy websites and researching family history in libraries. His travels to Wales allowed him to dig deeper into his Welsh heritage.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Jo Mattson, two children, Carl (Todd Odell) Mattson of Long Beach, CA and Catherine (Brian) Cahoon of Naperville, three grandchildren, Max, Jayne and Will Cahoon, and one brother, Allen (Anita) Mattson. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Warren Mattson.

A visitation will be held on Sunday, May 20, 2018 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., Wheaton, where a funeral service will be held at 4:00 p.m. Private interment will be held at Assumption Cemetery in Wheaton, Illinois.

Family and friends may sign a guest book at hultgrenfh.com. For more information, please call Hultgren Funeral Home at 630-668-0027.