William "Bill" Arthur Willis was born March 25, 1945 in Oklahoma City to Arch Leonard Willis and Elsie May Quillen. He passed away August 26, 2016 in Oklahoma City at the age of 71.

Bill grew up in Bethany and worked on ranches with his dad in Osage county and northeast Oklahoma. His family traveled a lot so Bill attended 12 different schools from elementary to high school. His father started out in the oil fields which left Bill with his mother, a waitress, at Aunt Carm’s Café and Billiard Hall. He loved the billiards but didn’t like the café life with his mom and her sister.

Art, as he was called, left the oil fields and worked in the stockyards where Bill learned how to sell cattle and make a living that way running the chutes. Art left the stockyards and became a rancher full time slowly building up his own herd of cattle. The family worked on some prestigious ranches including Lyndon B. Johnson’s ranch where Art ran the cattle, Elsie cooked for all of the men and Bill went to school and fell in love with horses while working with his Dad.

They eventually settled in Osage county where Art and Elsie met and fell in love. Elsie was quoted as saying; “that Art arrived to town on horseback and that he was the most beautiful man, she had ever seen."

Bill graduated from Shindler High School, class of 1963 as a B+ student. He excelled in math and science and earned an associate’s degree from Oklahoma State University, Okmulgee.

He was 21 when he enlisted in the army by choice. He served two years in Vietnam, with the 2/34th armor “Dreadnoughts” and made Sergeant in less than a year. He left the Army as a skilled E5 scathed and unharmed.

His love for rodeo, especially bull riding began when he was a kid and he took it to the professional level competing in the IRA for years. At one time he owned a plane and flew to rodeos all over North America. It was at a rodeo that he met his one and only wife of 42 years, Lynda Faye. She was working the entry books for a rodeo and Bill showed up. It wasn’t long until the married and he gave up rodeo to raise their son, Brandon Jake "Little Beaver" and work at OG&E, coached the Luther High School Lady Lions fast pitch softball team when they didn’t have a coach. He took no pay for that job.

He later retired from OG&E and went to work for Academy in the hunting and fishing department. He was the winner of the prestigious Pope and Young award for his trophy 14 point whitetail. In a Bass circuit he won the Big Fish Award and came home with a brand new bass boat as the prize. He joined Academy, then Sportsman’s, and back to Academy where he loved seeing old and making new friends.

He was an avid sportsman, loved the rodeo enjoying bull riding, bronc riding, and bareback riding. He often enjoyed fishing trips with his grandchildren to Corpus Christi where they fished off the pier.

He was a Chickasaw Elder and proud of his Chickasaw Heritage.

Bill was an incredible man with an inspiring zest for life and an amazing spirit that affected many in such a positive way.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Armedia Thomas.

Survivors include his wife of 42 years, Lynda Lewis Willis of the home; daughter, Amy and her husband Chris Spalek of Corpus Christi; son, Brandon Willis and his partner Gino Ghiglione of Wellston; three grandchildren, Cole, Creed and Koi; and many other family and friends.

A funeral will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 31, 2016 at the Lehman Funeral Home Chapel with interment following in the Wellston Cemetery.

Arrangements are under the direction of Lehman Funeral Home of Wellston.