SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — William H. Fife Jr., former chairman of the American Society of Baking’s Exposition Booth Committee and a longtime member of the Bakers Courtesy Club of Chicago, died May 7. He was 87 years old.

Mr. Fife began his career in the baking and food service industries in 1954, joining the advertising department of Ekco/Glaco, a baking pan company. Seven years later, in 1961, he co-founded an advertising agency, Mills, Fife, MacDonald in Des Plaines, Ill. In 1967 he bought out his two partners and became the sole owner of the agency. He led the business for 22 years, eventually closing it in the late 1980s. In 1991, Mr. Fife, along with his wife Bette, founded Creative Marketing Concepts, an advertising agency whose clients include several baking equipment and ingredient suppliers.

Mr. Fife was a longtime member of the American Society of Baking, serving as chairman of the Exposition Committee and as a member of the Scientific Committee. He also was a member of the Bakers Courtesy Club for nearly 50 years, serving as president for two years and secretary/treasurer for six years.

He received the 2008-09 Robert A. Fischer Distinguished Service Award from the A.S.B. The award recognizes a member of the A.S.B. that has exemplified the meaning of leadership and service to the association.

He was preceded in death by wife, Bette. Survivors include three sons, Michael (Catherine Curran) Fife, Greg (Diane) Fife, and Brian (Violetta) Fife; three daughters, Patricia (Dale) Ferguson, Marybeth (John) Bank, and Elise Fife; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.