By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

ANDERSON TOWNSHIP - William H. Kadel, retired chairman of Fifth Third Bank of Western Ohio, died Monday of an apparent heart attack at his home. He was 75.

Mr. Kadel was an "overachiever - a Type A personality," said his wife of 54 years, Virginia.

"When he got started on a project, it had to be done yesterday, and that was the way with everything he did. He had the ability to inspire other people - to get them going. He could see things before they were finished, but he needed help, and he knew how to get the people going to get things accomplished."

Born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1928, Mr. Kadel graduated from Urbana High School and attended Ohio University. A member of the Ohio National Guard, he was activated in 1951 and served stateside as a first lieutenant during the Korean War.

He took a job with Guardian Bank in Springfield after his honorable discharge in 1952. In 1960, after graduating from the American Bankers Association Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wis., he became vice president with the First National Cincinnati Corp., the holding company of First National Bank of Cincinnati (now U.S. Bank).

In 1983, Mr. Kadel was named president and CEO of the Piqua National Bank and Trust Co. Under his leadership, it became part of Fifth Third Bank of Western Ohio.

He retired as chairman of the board in 1991.

Mr. Kadel was a Paul Harris Fellow of the International Rotary Club and served on the boards of the Ohio Bankers Association, the Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce and WPTW-AM and WCLR-FM.

As chairman of the Music Arts Program in Troy, he arranged for free summer concerts by the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops orchestras in Miami County.

Mr. Kadel was a past president of the Piqua Area United Way and a 50-year member of St. Andrew's Lodge No. 619 F&AM in Springfield. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Cincinnati and Syrian Shrine.

In addition to his wife, survivors include three sons, Kent and David, both of Anderson Township, and Barry of Durham, N.C.; a brother, Richard of Urbana; four granddaughters; and a great-grandson.

Visitation is 6-8 p.m. Fridayat T.P. White Funeral Home, 2050 Beechmont Ave., Mount Washington. The funeral is 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Entombment will be at Gate of Heaven Cemetery Mausoleum.

Memorials: Anderson Hills United Methodist Church, 7515 Forest Road, Cincinnati, OH 45255; The Ohio Masonic Home, 2655 West National Road, Springfield, OH 45504; or Cincinnati Shriners Hospital, 3229 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45229.

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com