William Leonard Capers, 76, former police officer and DA detective

BILL CAPERS was not the kind of guy to sit around in idle retirement. He had to be up and about, out with people and doing a job.

"He couldn't sit still, twiddling his thumbs and watching TV," said his sister Delores Capers. "He had to go to work."

In fact, William Leonard Capers, a former Philadelphia police officer and district attorney's detective, was working as a delivery driver for Pep Boys at the time of his death of heart failure on Feb. 10. He was 76 and lived in West Oak Lane.

Much of Bill's activities centered on helping young people, especially the troubled ones and those with special needs. Even as a cop, he was involved in trying to show youths the error of their ways and how to turn their lives around.

A former Marine, Bill Capers got satisfaction tutoring fatherless youths and working in the Special Olympics program.

He also was a devoted church member and an active Mason.

Bill Capers was born in Philadelphia to Irene Leonard and Theodore R. Capers Sr. He graduated from Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School, now the Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School, in 1956, majoring in welding.

He was a member of the school's champion track team, dubbed the "Flying Four." It competed with other schools both locally and in the region, as well as at the prestigious Penn Relays, and won numerous trophies.

Bill enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school and served at Parris Island in South Carolina, attaining the rank of lance corporal.

He then joined the Police Department and was assigned to the 16th District at 39th Street and Lancaster Avenue.

One of his jobs was in the juvenile division, which sent him into the streets to pick up truants and kids who got in trouble with the law.

As a D.A. detective, one of his duties was in security, in which he helped guard visiting dignitaries.

He won a number of commendations, and the family is proud of a photo of then-District Attorney Ed Rendell presenting Bill with one of them.

He retired in 1987 after 27 years of service. But his retirement didn't last long. He went to work for the Philadelphia School District as a driver for special-needs students. He took them on trips to the circus, Harlem Globetrotters games and other events.

"He said he had to be patient with some of the students who had emotional problems as well as physical ones," Delores said. "But that was his nature. He was patient and loving with everyone."

In 2004, Bill was hired by Walmart before the opening of its store on Easton Road in Cheltenham. He helped get the store ready for opening, and when it opened he became a greeter.

"He would welcome customers to the store and help them find what they were looking for," Delores said. "They called him 'Mr. Bill.' "

After Walmart, he went to work for the Pep Boys store on Stenton Avenue near Tulpehocken Street as a delivery driver.

Bill never lost his love of track and field, and he and some friends, including members of the "Flying Four," attended the Penn Relays every year.

He married Marlene Kelly Williams, a retired schoolteacher, in 1982. She died in 2002.

"He was fun-loving, always making jokes," Delores said.

Her sister, Sheila Capers Alexander, agreed. "He was jovial, happy-go-lucky," she said. "He always had to be involved in some activity."

Besides his sisters, he is survived by a son, Jonathan Clark; a stepdaughter, Michelle Williams; two grandchildren; a host of nieces and nephews; and his companion, Selena Curry.

Services: 11 a.m. tomorrow at Grace Baptist Church of Germantown, 28 W. Johnson St. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be at White Chapel Cemetery.