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William Olin Van Buskirk left this world on his final flight to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on July 24, 2004 at the age of 65. Bill was born in Livingston, MT. His father was employed with the Bureau of Public Roads, which caused Bill to attend 18 different schools until his family settled in Santa Fe, NM. He graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1957. After graduating, he enlisted in the Navy and served as an Aviation Survival Equipment Technician. He was honorably discharged in 1967. Bill attended San Diego State University and USC. Bill enjoyed a long and successful career in the Aerospace Industry. He started working for Sergeant Industries as a manager of FAA Repair Station in Long Beach, CA. He then moved on to work for American Safety Flight System in the Rocket Jet Engineering Division as a Test Engineer of Survival Equipment. Bill was later employed with McDonald Douglas Corporation from 1975 to 1996. He worked with the Aces II Ejection Seat Quality Assurance Division. In 1980, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and retired from the military in 1996. Bill retired from McDonald Douglas as a Senior Staff Specialist in charge of Product Support Customer Service. He also provided technical assistance to on-site Aircraft Mishap Investigation on the Aces II Program. After his retirement, Bill worked for East West Industries as a Regional Manager with the Southwest Division from 1996 to 1998. Bill concluded his career in the Aerospace Industry working at the Life Science Equipment Investigation Laboratory at Brooks AFB. He worked in the Life Science Artifact Section as an Equipment Analyst in support of the POW/MIA personnel accountability mission. Bill took great pride in bringing closure to families who suffered the pain of not knowing what happened to their loved one while serving their country. It was a perfect ending to a great career. Bill's hobbies included a variety of different art mediums, ranging from leather burning, rock paintings and silver smithing. In 1995, Bill's passion turned to stained glass art. He combined his childhood fascination of kaleidoscopes and airplanes to create his one-of-a-kind Stained Glass Air-O-Scopes. His Air-O-Scopes are sold in galleries throughout the Southwest, stirring the interest of kaleidoscope enthusiast. Bill embraced his life with adventure and dedication. He left a lasting impression with his family and friends making this world a better place for all that knew him. He is survived by his wife, Helen Van Buskirk; daughter, Christina Deal and her husband Joe; son, David Van Buskirk; stepchildren, Cindy Badders and her husband Brad, Vicki Williams and Billy Liles; sister, Teri Hutchinson; grandchildren, Amanda and Nicolas Deal; stepgrandchildren, Brian and Doug Badders, Michelle Hollenbaugh, Brandon, Cheyenne and Amanda Liles; stepgreat-grandchildren, Brittany and Bryan Hollenbaugh. Services: Visitation for William O. Van Buskirk will be held Friday, July 30, 2004 from 5:00 - 9:00 P.M. at Mission Park Funeral Chapels North, 3401 Cherry Ridge Drive. Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, July 31, 2004 at 12:00 Noon also at Mission Park Funeral Chapels North. The family request in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Cancer Therapy & Research Center CTRC, P.O. Box 1657, San Antonio, TX 78296-1657. Mission Park Funeral Chapels North.

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William Olin Van Buskirk

May 4, 1939 - July 24, 2004