William "Bill" Albert Dager

William “Bill” Albert Dager, 89, of Carmel, was lost to us on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. He was born December 28, 1936, in Leavittsburg, OH to the late William Abrahim and Elvera (DeLoreto) Dager. Bill started his college career at Ohio State University and finished by earning his degree in electrical engineering from Tri-State College in Angola Indiana.

Bill began his work life at Bendix Corp where he worked on the Talos Missile. He left Bendix in 1969 and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he became Executive Vice President of Photon Sources, a startup founded at a time when industrial laser technology was still in its infancy. Bill designed and developed some of the earliest high-power CO₂ lasers and envisioned practical applications that were decades ahead of their time. His innovations contributed directly to technologies now considered commonplace, from laser-drilled time-release pharmaceutical pills to  tailor-welded blanks that transformed efficiency and precision in the automotive industry. His work helped lay the foundation for modern laser-based manufacturing and applications used around the world today.

Beyond engineering, Bill’s great passion was golf. He was a longtime member of Barton Hills Country Club and cherished the camaraderie of a close-knit traveling golf group. Together they played many of the world’s great courses, with journeys extending as far as Ireland, experiences Bill valued as much for the friendships as for the fairways. Bill’s legacy lives on in the technologies he helped create the industries he transformed, and the friendships he cultivated both on the factory floor and on the golf course.

Bill enjoyed teaching his girls Lisa and Jennifer how to fly box kites and why they were so special, and he cherished time spent with them at the piano playing Chopsticks. He also shared his love of Chopin and Gershwin. Bill was possibly the only person who could sing every Big Ten fight song word for word.

The schemes that his grandsons, Spencer and Trevor, would come up with to try and stump their “Jidu”, left them certain that he could build anything, and he always knew the answer to any question. As a friend put it: “Bill always knew where North was”.

In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his sister, Janice Dager Sekela.

Survivors include his loving wife of 65 years, Frances M. Wendl Dager; 2 daughters, Lisa Dager and Jennifer (Eric) White; 2 grandsons, Spencer White, and Trevor White; and sister, Barbara Dager Kohen.

You were a hero and champion to your family as well as to others, offering that silent guidance. You were there for your friends and family. You never asked for anything in return.

 Always Loved…Never Forgotten.

As Bill requested, there will not be a funeral scheduled at this time.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:

Riverview Health Foundation, 395 Westfield Road, Noblesville, IN 46060 https://donate.riverview.org/products/DONATE/donate-today  or,

To the American Kidney Fund, https://www.kidneyfund.org/

Bussell Family Funerals is privileged to assist the family in arrangements.

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