Obituary for William George "Bill" Kahl
Retired business leader William G. “Bill” Kahl, Jr, 93, husband of Hildegard (Gally) Kahl, died peacefully at his home, Maplewood of Newtown, in Newtown Connecticut, on January 24, 2023, after a brief illness.
Bill was president and co-founder of Arrowhead Enterprises, a leading manufacturer of commercial alarm systems based in New Milford, Connecticut. At the time of his retirement in 1983, Arrowhead had more than 300 employees, with systems sold across the United States and Europe, and Bill personally held 12 patents. In later years, when Bill described his life and business experience, he often made his story sound straightforward and unremarkable. However, his actual journey was a more complicated story of achievement in the face of adversity.
Bill was born in 1929 in Queens, New York, the only child of William G. Kahl, Sr. and Marion (Dappert) Kahl. Despite the Depression, William Sr. was able to maintain steady employment in the garment business, and Bill grew up in relative security on Long Island. From a young age, Bill showed strong athletic ability and an aptitude for mathematics and science. In 1943, he was accepted at the prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School, where he excelled academically and as a starter on the baseball and basketball teams. He then went on to attend Bucknell University and MIT, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1951. Shortly after graduation, Bill was drafted for the Korean War, delaying the start of a promising professional career. Assigned to an Army engineer unit, Bill was suddenly stricken with polio while still in the United States. This was the start of years of treatment, hope, despair, and triumph.
The polio ravaged his legs, and he was initially told he would never walk again. He spent more than a year in military hospitals attempting to rehabilitate his legs alongside fellow soldiers severely wounded in combat, who often had worse prospects than Bill. He then underwent experimental treatment consisting of multiple surgeries to rework his surviving leg muscles. The surgeries were difficult and painful, but ultimately enabled him to walk again with difficulty after more rehabilitation.
Upon leaving the hospital, Bill embarked on a journey to build a life that was defined by his abilities, not his disabilities. He went back to college and got a second degree. He restarted his career as an electrical design engineer. He figured out how to swim and play golf and tennis again, and even learned to water ski. And, in 1960, he met Hildegard (known to all as Hilde), the love of his life. Hilde, herself an immigrant refugee from war-torn Europe, also understood adversity and loss. Married in 1961 they made a life project of building a family founded on optimism and the belief that life’s challenges can be overcome. In 1965, he founded Arrowhead with his brother-in-law John. In that same year, Hilde and Bill also built their family home on Candlewood Lake in Brookfield, Connecticut where they lived for 50 years.
In addition to his beloved Hilde, Bill is survived by his children Judy Sanborn, James Kahl, and Thomas Kahl; his son-in-law Kyle Sanborn; his daughters-in law Kendall Kahl and Suzanne Kahl; and seven grandchildren: Matthew, Trevor, Kyle William, Ryan, Emily, Katherine, and Alyssa.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s name may be made to the Ridgefield Visiting Nurses Association (of Connecticut)
Bill was president and co-founder of Arrowhead Enterprises, a leading manufacturer of commercial alarm systems based in New Milford, Connecticut. At the time of his retirement in 1983, Arrowhead had more than 300 employees, with systems sold across the United States and Europe, and Bill personally held 12 patents. In later years, when Bill described his life and business experience, he often made his story sound straightforward and unremarkable. However, his actual journey was a more complicated story of achievement in the face of adversity.
Bill was born in 1929 in Queens, New York, the only child of William G. Kahl, Sr. and Marion (Dappert) Kahl. Despite the Depression, William Sr. was able to maintain steady employment in the garment business, and Bill grew up in relative security on Long Island. From a young age, Bill showed strong athletic ability and an aptitude for mathematics and science. In 1943, he was accepted at the prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School, where he excelled academically and as a starter on the baseball and basketball teams. He then went on to attend Bucknell University and MIT, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1951. Shortly after graduation, Bill was drafted for the Korean War, delaying the start of a promising professional career. Assigned to an Army engineer unit, Bill was suddenly stricken with polio while still in the United States. This was the start of years of treatment, hope, despair, and triumph.
The polio ravaged his legs, and he was initially told he would never walk again. He spent more than a year in military hospitals attempting to rehabilitate his legs alongside fellow soldiers severely wounded in combat, who often had worse prospects than Bill. He then underwent experimental treatment consisting of multiple surgeries to rework his surviving leg muscles. The surgeries were difficult and painful, but ultimately enabled him to walk again with difficulty after more rehabilitation.
Upon leaving the hospital, Bill embarked on a journey to build a life that was defined by his abilities, not his disabilities. He went back to college and got a second degree. He restarted his career as an electrical design engineer. He figured out how to swim and play golf and tennis again, and even learned to water ski. And, in 1960, he met Hildegard (known to all as Hilde), the love of his life. Hilde, herself an immigrant refugee from war-torn Europe, also understood adversity and loss. Married in 1961 they made a life project of building a family founded on optimism and the belief that life’s challenges can be overcome. In 1965, he founded Arrowhead with his brother-in-law John. In that same year, Hilde and Bill also built their family home on Candlewood Lake in Brookfield, Connecticut where they lived for 50 years.
In addition to his beloved Hilde, Bill is survived by his children Judy Sanborn, James Kahl, and Thomas Kahl; his son-in-law Kyle Sanborn; his daughters-in law Kendall Kahl and Suzanne Kahl; and seven grandchildren: Matthew, Trevor, Kyle William, Ryan, Emily, Katherine, and Alyssa.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s name may be made to the Ridgefield Visiting Nurses Association (of Connecticut)