William R. Pringle was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 3, 1900, the eldest son of William H. and Julia M. Pringle. He was educated in the Cleveland Public Schools and graduated from Western Reserve University from which he received the Degree of A. B., and also received the degrees of L.L.B. and L.L.M. from Ohio Northern University, and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1922.
He was married on November 24, 1932, to Miss Clare L. Boje, of Cleveland, Ohio, to this marriage two daughters were born. The family attended Grace Lutheran Church in Cleveland Heights.
He was engaged in the private practice of the law until 1930 when he was elected to the Ohio Legislature and was re-elected as a Representative from Cuyahoga County in 1932. But resigned from that body in July 1933, to enter the employ of The East Ohio Gas Company in Cleveland to do legal work. He was Secretary of and Counsel for the company and was also a member of the Board of Directors.
He was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland, the Mid-Day Club, Young Men’s Christian Association, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. Other activities include the American Gas Association, Delta Theta Phi legal fraternity, the Board of Trustees of Doctor’s Hospital of Cleveland Heights, The Masonic Board of Relief, and the Masonic Library Association.
For twenty-seven years he has been an active member of the Cleveland Bar Association and is also a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He was formerly a member of the Board of Trustees of the East Cleveland Masonic Temple Company and also served as a member of the Masonic Employment Bureau. For five years he was a member of Troop B, 107th Cavalry, Ohio National Guard.
He was an honorary member of Cleveland Council of Engineers of the Universal Craftsmen and of Cleveland Chapter of the National Sojourners. Erepa Grotto and Yusef Grotto, M. O. V. P. E. R., both made him an honorary member.
He became a member of Windermere Lodge No. 627, F. & A. M., on May 10, 1922, at the age of twenty-one and was also a member of Windermere Chapter No. 203, R. A. M.; Windermere Council No. 113, R. & S. M.; Heights Commandery No. 76, Knights Templar; and was a member of Lake Erie Consistory serving as Master of Ceremonies in Eliadah Lodge of Perfection.
He is also a member of Al Koran Temple, A. A. 0, N. M. S.; Al Sirat Grotto, M. O. V. P. E. R., and Cleveland Forest No. 70, Tall Cedars of Lebanon, and an honorary member of the Police Masonic Fellowcraft Team of Cleveland. He was also an honorary member of forty-three Lodges.
He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the Twenty-second Masonic District of Ohio in October, 1941, and served until October, 1943, when he was appointed Junior Grand Deacon. He was appointed Senior Grand Deacon in 1944; Grand Orator in 1945; was elected Junior Grand Warden in 1946; Senior Grand Warden in 1947; Deputy Grand Master in 1948; and Grand Master, October 22, 1949.