Grosse Pointe News

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William F. Coyro Jr., D.D.S.Free Access


William F. Coyro Jr., D.D.S.

William F. “Bill” Coyro Jr., D.D.S., a longtime Grosse Pointe resident and business entrepreneur who founded both a dental practice and full-service technology company, passed away Saturday, March 5, following a brief illness. A Detroit native, Dr. Coyro, 78, was raised in Grosse Pointe Woods and lived in Grosse Pointe Park the past 50 years.

Dr. Coyro graduated from Austin Catholic High School in 1961. There he excelled on the basketball team, which won the state championship three years prior to his graduation, and on the cross-country team, for which he set an individual school record that stood until the school closed in 1978.

He continued his education at the University of Michigan and University of Detroit, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965, and a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1969.

He married Mary Martha Anderson in May 1969, immediately before he began serving two and one-half years of active military service for the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He was attached to a SeaBees unit, stationed in Guam for 15 months, before he was honorably discharged in December 1971. Bill and Mary returned to the U.S. and moved into the Grosse Pointe Park home where they lived since 1972. That same year, Bill opened his dental practice, which he continued to develop while cultivating his growing interest in the field of computer technology.

As a result of his interest in computers, Bill formed a new company in 1979, named Computer Trade Development Corp. The company experienced rapid growth throughout the 1980s. In 1987, its popularity led to it becoming a publicly traded corporation and it changed its name to National Tech Team. The company, which later became known as Tech Team Global and expanded into Europe and Asia, had 2,100 employees when it was sold in 2010.

Dr. Coyro was recognized for numerous awards as a result of his entrepreneurial and philanthropic activities. In 1994, he won the Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year Award, issued by Ernst & Young and Merrill-Lynch; the Detroit Free Press Marketing Innovator of the Year Award, issued by the Detroit Free Press and Michigan Society of Marketing Executives, in 1996; and the Hispanic Businessman of the Year Award, issued by the Hispanic Business Alliance, in 2005.

He also was a past member of the Board of Directors of Oakland University, Detroit Institute for Children and Dean’s Advisory Board at Boston University. In addition to providing numerous contributions of dental services throughout his career, Dr. Coyro also donated time and resources on behalf of the Soltas Energy Advisory Board, the Barber Focus School IT Project and the parish of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Park.

Bill was predeceased by his parents, William F. Coyro Sr., and Virginia (Tuohy) Coyro of Santa Cruz, Calif. He is survived by his wife, Mary Martha Coyro; sons, William F. “Fritz” Coyro III and Paul R. Coyro (Jodi Girodat Coyro); and was the special “Papa Doc” to his grandchildren, Raegan, Luna, Cala and Gates Coyro. He also is survived by siblings, Roger Coyro (Annie) of Los Angeles; Dan Coyro of Santa Cruz, Calif., and Nancy Coyro of Santa Cruz, Calif.

A memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 19, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 15020 Hampton, Grosse Pointe Park. The family will greet mourners for 60 minutes prior to the memorial and a reception will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Bill’s memory be directed to the National Kidney Foundation, kidney.org.