William Michael Siska

Our dear son Will was taken from us too soon on Sunday, October 15, 2023. Will was a son, brother, husband, father, and friend. He was born at home in Chicago in May of 1977, but at four months of age moved to Salt Lake City with his parents and older brother, where he lived most of his life.

At an early age and after, Will was drawn to the eccentric, the quirky, the different. In fourth grade music class, he chose the tuba as his instrument, and he could be seen lugging the massive case on Nila Way on his way home from Morningside School. At the age of twelve he learned how to cook Chicken Milanesi, even though it took him four hours from stove to table, and more recently, when companion animals became common, he chose a tame but still scary boa constrictor for his. He liked to wrap the snake around his neck and laugh.

In his freshman year at Judge Memorial High School, he felt he had to have a sport, so he chose wrestling. He did well enough to earn a letter. By his sophomore year his eyes had changed, and he began wearing wire rim spectacles. He friends told him the glasses made him look like an intellectual, so he decided to become one. His grades improved markedly.

Will worked his way through college as an employee of Aampco Parking Services. He was very proud of receiving his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Utah. One of his tasks with Aampco was to head up to Park City in January to do valet parking for the Sundance Film Festival. One year he parked the vehicle driven by a prominent Hollywood actor. When the actor returned, he retrieved his car without giving Will a tip. Will took it philosophically. “It looked like he was having a rougher night than I was,” he said. The next year he parked an SUV for Tim Robbins, who was being honored by the festival. His co- workers had to tell Will who he was. When Robbins came back at the end of the evening he gave Will a tip that made up for whatever he missed out on the previous January.

Will married his high school sweetheart, Jodee (Silver) Kingsley in 1998, and though they later divorced, they remained friends for life. In 2001 they moved to Portland, Oregon, where Will lived for six years. The trips to wine country, the coast, and new hiking trails were almost weekly adventures, and Will loved hosting dinner parties for their friends and coworkers. In 2003 their son Camden was born and Will jumped right in to being a doting dad, having his son wrapped to his chest while he cooked Thanksgiving dinner, and always singing songs to make him smile. Will was so proud to be a father.

Will had many passionate interests, which he jumped into full throttle, including beer brewing, bonsai trees, painting, solving clues for letterboxing, Buddhism, and chess. In mid- conversation, Will might pull out his cell phone and respond to a chess move from halfway across the world. He played chess with many opponents who he never met in person because they lived thousands of miles away. He only took on skilled players, and sometimes he won. Will was always up for a challenge.

And now he is gone from us, leaving a hole in our lives. He leaves behind his son Camden, his parents, Elizabeth Conley and Bill Siska, his brothers Sean and Güs, and sister Maggie, and many caring relatives and friends.

A wake will be on Thursday, October 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City. Guests are encouraged to use parking and entrance located on the north side of the building. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, October 27 at 11:00 AM at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 1375 E. Spring Lane, Holladay. He will be laid to rest following mass at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. On Sunday October 29 at 11:30 AM a Buddhist Puja ceremony will be held at the Urgyen Samten Ling Meditation Temple, 40 N 8th W, Salt Lake City.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Alliance House of Salt Lake or the Bishop Wiegand Center are encouraged.