Roll Call Tribute

Published in The (Oklahoma City OK) Oklahoman on June 2, 2013

WILLIAM PIRTLE
March 18, 1932 - May 30, 2013 OKLAHOMA CITY William Nash Pirtle, 81, died May 30, 2013, at Integris Baptist Medical Center. The beloved family man and civic leader succumbed to a brief illness magnified by a number of health complications. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5, 2013, at Nichols Hills United Methodist Church, 1212 Bedford Drive, Nichols Hills.Bill was born March 18, 1932, to Reuben Candler and Leota Mae Nash Pirtle in Morse, Texas. He grew up on the family farm in Throckmorton County and graduated Throckmorton High School with the class of 1949. From the age of 14, Bill spent summers as a member of a custom harvest crew. He paid for his college education by going on harvest from south Texas to northern Minnesota. While at Texas A&M College, he was a member of the Army Corps of Cadets and toured North America as a Singing Cadet. He graduated TAMC with a degree in geological engineering and skipped graduation ceremonies in order to be on time for his first day of work with Oklahoma Natural Gas. This dedication was the beginning of a 40-year career that saw his family of five moved 26 times in the first 27 years of marriage. On Sept. 5, 1953, Bill and the former Judith Frances Oden were married in College Station, Texas. From 1953 to 1955, Bill served in the United States Army as a 1st Lieutenant posted to Fort Hood, Texas, where he was a field artillery commander. He also attended post at Fort Sill and Fort Polk, Louisiana. Following an honorable discharge, he immediately returned to Oklahoma and ONG. Able to call a spade a spade without rousing tempers or hurting feelings, Bill's talent for leading people and achieving common goals led to his rapid rise through the ranks of ONG administration. From a position as engineer trainee, he rose to become vice president of Shawnee district and Oklahoma City district and later, the vice president of marketing in Tulsa. He found it a matter of course to know the names of each of the 450+ employees working in his district, and his open-door policy kept lines of communication and the focus on customer satisfaction a company priority. At home, Bill divided his spare time between maintaining a scratch golf handicap and tinkering in the garage with his son. Between the driveway basketball goal, the lights from the garage and the laughter in the air, neighborhood teens were drawn to be near Bill and David and their camaraderie. Bill was a grandson of a Methodist preacher in charge of the flocks of northwest Texas. He willingly lent his wisdom and experience to the Methodist church in each of his hometowns, including serving as a deacon and on the board of trustees of several congregations. Bill retired in 1994 as senior vice president in Oklahoma City — a community he was dedicated to serving. Following the death of Judy in 2006, Bill found a new and lasting love with Beverly Brown. The couple was married Dec. 19, 2009, in the home of Alan and Gwen Niemann — and the golden years took on a new meaning. Previous putterings in the garden, dabbling with acrylic paints and canvas, and helping with the family barbecue sauce and catering businesses were replaced with quieter enjoyments of reading, trying new restaurants and loving the companionship of his wife and family. Known for lighthearted teasing that won the hearts of waitresses and welders alike, Bill liked to describe a strong friendship as one where he could say, "I have hugging rights?" He was a strong supporter of women, particularly in the workplace. Bill mentored many talented employees to help them achieve leadership positions in ONEOK and its subsidiaries. He taught his children through example the importance of giving back — especially through community service. Bill served as an active member of numerous boards. He was instrumental in the creation of Presbyterian Health Foundation and served as treasurer to the first MAPS campaign that saw the revitalization of Oklahoma City. He was a very active on the boards of directors of Children's Medical Research Foundation, State Fair of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation and BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma, among the many. He quietly helped with the reorganizations of what are now Oklahoma City Philharmonic and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. He was selected as a "Five Who Care Humanitarian Award" recipient by a 30-member board of governors. The award was sponsored by KOCO TV Channel 5 and saluted extraordinary leadership and volunteerism. He is survived by his wife, Beverly; and daughters, Carey Head and husband Danny, of Ponca City; Susan Linderer, of Yukon; and Deborah Pirtle, of Texas City, Texas; and son, Michael Hillerby and wife Carrie, of Reno, Nevada. He is also survived by grandchildren, Brett Pirtle, and Rebecca Pirtle Hale and husband Jonathan, all of Houston; Alyssa Linderer, of Yukon; Erika Martin and Clayton Head, both of Oklahoma City; and Isabella, Emma and Max, all of Reno, Nevada. He also is survived by his sister, Dana Lynn Cherry, of Odessa, Texas; and sister-in-law, Kathy Whitwell, of Oklahoma City. Bill was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Diane Sue Pirtle; wife, Judith Frances Pirtle; grandson, Ryan Michael Linderer; son, David Ray Pirtle; brother, Reuben Candler "June" Pirtle Jr. and wife Mavis; and brother-in-law, James Cherry. In lieu of flowers, his family suggests tributes in Bill's memory be given to his beloved Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, 825 NE 13th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73104 (or www.omrf.org) and by continuing Bill's custom of extending a kind act to another.