By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SYMMES TWP. - Bill Louder was a managing partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Cincinnati, St. Paul, Minn., and Cleveland before retiring in 1989.

Afterward, his talents as an accountant and leader led to a post as assistant director of finance at his alma mater - Miami University - until Parkinson's disease forced him to retire in the mid-'90s.

Mr. Louder, an Army veteran and 33rd degree Mason, died Saturday at the Lodge Care Center in Loveland. The Symmes Township resident was 72.

"For an accountant, he had people skills - he was just vibrant all the time," said son Jim Louder of Loveland.

And while Mr. Louder was enthusiastic about golf, swimming, the theater and reading, his favorite hobby was Miami sports. He "never missed a Miami football game - even with the extreme winter conditions," his son Jim said.

Born in Cleveland in 1930, William Louder Jr. served as president of the Deer Park High School Class of 1948.

In 1952 he received a bachelor's degree in accounting from Miami.

He then joined the staff of Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery Certified Public Accountants (later Coopers & Lybrand and eventually PricewaterhouseCoopers) on the 38th floor of the Carew Tower downtown.

That same year, he was commissioned a second lieutenant with the Army Infantry and served with the Ordnance Corps in Germany.

He returned to the accounting firm after being honorably discharged as a first lieutenant in 1955, and eventually ascended to managing partner in charge of operations.

Active in the Shrine, Jesters and Scottish Rite, he helped establish the Scottish Rite Learning Center in Cincinnati.

Mr. Louder was president of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Cincinnati Downtown YMCA board of management. He also served as an elder and participated in the jail ministry of the Indian Hill Episcopal Presbyterian Church.

In addition to his son Jim, survivors include: his wife of 51 years, Charmaine; two daughters, Tracy O'Neill of San Francisco and Leslie Fischer of Grand Rapids, Mich.; two other sons, Douglas Louder of West Chester and William Louder III of Denver; and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service is at 11 a.m. today at Indian Hill Episcopal Presbyterian Church, 6000 Drake Road.

Memorials: Cerebral Palsy Foundation, 3601 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45229-2298; National Parkinson's Foundation, P.O. Box 450, Huntington Valley, PA 19006; or Shrine Hospital, 3229 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45202.

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E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com