william kistler "bill" coors (august 11, 1916 – october 13, 2018) was an american businessman. he was born in golden, colorado. he was the grandson of adolph coors (1847-1929), founder of the coors brewing company. he was known for his work with the company for 64 years, and was a board member from 1973 to 2003. he studied at princeton university.