William G. “Bill” Squires Jr., PhD, FACSM, Professor Emeritus of Kinesiology and Biology at Texas Lutheran University, passed away peacefully on October 15, 2026, following a long health challenge. Bill was a loving father, a dedicated educator, and a tireless contributor to his community.
Dr. Squires earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Southwest Texas State University and his PhD in exercise physiology and cardiac rehabilitation through Texas A&M University and Baylor College of Medicine. He was a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center he directed exercise testing in the cardiopulmonary laboratory and did the pre-flight testing for the crew of STS-1, the first Space Shuttle mission. He later returned to NASA to work on exercise countermeasures for the shuttle program.
He taught kinesiology and biology at Texas Lutheran from 1980 to 2017 and held the Dr. Fredrick C. Elliott Chair in Health, Fitness, and Nutrition. He served on the Navarro ISD school board for nearly a decade, helping thousands of students. He spent the later part of his career working with the Seguin community to promote health, fitness, and nutrition and to help children in need in the public schools. He was a founding member and past president of the Texas Regional Chapter of ACSM, a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas State University, and a recipient of the 2013 Texas Health Champion Award. He will be remembered most for the many people he inspired and helped succeed.
Bill is survived by his children, William G. Squires III, Joshua Squires, Cara Squires, and David Squires.
A celebration of life service will be held in the Chapel of the Abiding Presence on the TLU campus on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the William G. Squires Scholarship Fund at Texas Lutheran University, 1000 W. Court St., Seguin, TX 78155, with “William Squires Endowment” noted on the check. Gifts can also be made online at https://www.tlu.edu/give/online-giving/ by selecting “Other” and entering “William Squires Endowment.”