Bill Donckers, 1969 Renton High School graduate, Renton resident and NFL football player, has died.

Donckers, 61, had been battling lymphoma cancer for eight years and passed away at his Bryn Mawr home on Dec. 3.

In 2011, he was inducted into the Renton High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

“Billy was one of a kind and has left us with so many good memories that will never be forgotten,” said Sandy Donckers-Avelino, his sister.

Donckers’ athletic career includes many accomplishments, among them making All-Pacific Coast Conference and captain while at San Diego State University. He was a free-agent player for the New England Patriots in 1973, the Oakland Raiders in 1974 and the

St. Louis Cardinals in 1976. Donckers played two years with the Cardinals.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Ochoa; sons, Bob Donckers and John Anderson; daughters, Jaime Shearer and Kristi Waite; father, Louie Donckers; brothers, Louie Donckers, Jr. and Joey Bob Primm; sisters, Debra Furrow and Sandy Donckers-Avelino; grandchildren, Coleman, Preston, Chandler, Brooklyn, Shale, Mackenzie, Roman and Noami.