William David Stark

December 15, 2018

William David Stark was born Dec. 31, 1924 in Beach, North Dakota to parents James and Nellie (Baldwin) Stark. He shared his childhood with 6 sisters and 2 brothers. After high school, Bill enlisted in the Navy during World War 2 and was a radar man on the Escort Carrier USS Sitkoh Bay. This ship escorted the USS Enterprise in the Pacific Theater until it was disabled in a skirmish and returned to Pearl Harbor. Bill was also disabled, sustaining extensive hearing loss from the repercussion in his headphones of a missile blowing up. He received an honorable discharge in November of 1944. He attended NDSU studying agriculture and was a fun loving member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. He met and married Priscilla Hadler in 1948, and they both graduated and taught school in western North Dakota. Bill and Pat had three daughters, Debra, Cynthia, and Jill. They moved the family to State College, PA while Bill earned his Masters Degree in Education. Accepting a grant to further his education, Bill moved his family to Laramie, Wyoming and earned his Doctorate in Outdoor Education from the University of Wyoming. While at Cheyenne and Laramie in the mid-'60's Bill wrote his doctoral dissertation (still in the annals of the U. of Wyoming library) on the GRE and adult education in Wyoming. He taught many classes at Warren AFB and left a legacy of teaching structure that still remains today. Dr. Bill was hired by Northern Illinois University where he taught graduate students how to teach their subjects in the out of doors. Although stationed at Laredo Taft Field Campus in Oregon, Illinois, Bill took an annual summer cohort of these graduate students to Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest, Snowy Range, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone and Thermopolis, teaching them his most beloved subject - Wonderful Wyoming and the out-of-doors. Bill and Pat retired from teaching in 1989 and left Illinois to move to Cave Creek, Arizona. Pat especially enjoyed the warm winters and they kept busy with their vintage clothing collection and shows, and family and friends. After Priscilla's passing in 2012, Bill left his home in Arizona to return to his beloved Wonderful Wyoming. He was visited often by his loving family, Debra Stark, Cindy (Jeff) Emmons (Katie and John Crawley; Sam, Jillian and James Emmons), and Jill (Leslie) Duckett (Bill, Jess, and Bronson Stark; Mike and son Noah Stark). Bill’s last month on earth was highlighted by a road trip to Yellowstone National Park with his three daughters, a ceremony honoring him as “Outstanding Citizen” of Wonderful Wyoming by the governor, and a Thanksgiving with family members surrounding him with laughter and love. Bill and Pat will be buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in north Phoenix, AZ. It is Bill’s wishes that in lieu of flowers you hug a loved one, make amends as you can and stop to smell the roses.