Bill Van Fleet

Bill Van Fleet was born in September 1942 as the only child of schoolteachers in the Detroit Metro area. His parents had summer jobs as managers of a Northern Michigan Country Club and young Bill spent much of his roaming the Northern woods of Michigan. He spent time fishing with his father, an expert fisherman. But most of his time was spent hanging around their cottage, reading books and swimming.

Bill was an accomplished athlete in high school, lettering in Basketball and Tennis. In his Senior Year, he held All-City honors in Tennis. He attended church weekly with his parents, but as he will attest, during this period in his life, he never developed a personal relationship with Christ.

After graduation, Bill joined the Army. He was known for causing an uproar at times and hung around with many interesting soldiers. They never accomplished a whole lot, but they had lots of fun!

When his tour ended, Bill returned to Michigan where he met and married his first wife Kay. He began working in Retail, selling mostly clothing and shoes. He was quite successful, but he had a desire to start his own store. He received many recommendations from vendors, advising him to get into the boot business and to open a store in the Cincinnati area. He packed up his wife and kids, (Rachel and Chad), settled in Milford, OH and began Boot Country in Springdale, Ohio. The first store opened in 1982 and within two years, he formed his corporation. Over time, his small cowboy boot business expanded to 4 stores and the emphasis over time shifted from cowboy boots to work boots. His stores now sell all styles of boots and clothing and is a very successful operation consisting of 40 plus employees. They have added an additional warehouse and office building, located near his home in Milford. His daughter, Rachel now runs the family business for the most part, but Bill can still be found hanging out and bothering everyone.

Bill's walk with Christ officially began in the early 1990's. He met Dominic and Ken at a men's prayer meeting at Faith Evangelical Free Church. As Bill will tell you, a variety of minor life changing events led to him investigating the truth of Jesus, but his faith and strength in the walk grew immensely, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the mentoring from Dominic and Ken. He attended the House Church Meetings at Dominic's house, and this is where his relationship with Daniel was fostered. When Daniel came to visit to the United States from Kenya, he would always stay with Bill.

In 2014, Bill lost his wife, Kay, to ALS. He cared for her for over a year, assisting her with her needs. Bill's love for the Lord got him through this very trying time. During his bachelor years, (from Kay's death until his second marriage to Jan in 2021), Bill would house the various missionaries that he supported when they would be in Cincinnati. Daniel was a frequent visitor and their relationship has grown even more.

As mentioned, Bill remarried in 2021. With his wife, Jan, their dog and cat, they spend their time feeding the birds, going to UC football and basketball games, and dedicating time to their local church. They still house visiting missionaries. But, like Dominic and Ken, Bill's first love lies in Kenya.