William Staley

William H. Staley passed in peace Friday, September 6, 2019 at the age of 78. He was surrounded by family, wife Christina, son Steve , daughter Betsy, son-in-law Rick and granddaughter Ally.Bill was born on May 30, 1941 in Martinsville, IL to Gay & Cecil (Rupp) Staley. He had two older brothers, Nelson Auld and Stan Auld. An Illinois farm boy, he was an A student and participated in sports, such as football, baseball and basketball.He was awarded a full scholarship in football to attend Arizona State University and graduated with a degree in Accounting. Upon graduating, Bill was offered a position with GE and remained in the Phoenix area that he loved for several years. He developed a passion for flying, starting in power aircraft but his true love was sailplanes, eventually owning his own airplane.After leaving Arizona he settled briefly in Denver, becoming an enthusiastic skier, spending many weekends skiing with his sons, before eventually moving to California working in insurance and computer sales. In 2001, he was offered a position in Nashville as a IT contractor to the State of Tennessee as a Business Analyst. Shortly after moving, he met Christina and on June 19, 2006, they married at a villa in Tuscany with many family members present. They shared a love of travel and after retiring in 2011, along with their yellow Lab, Sam, they began their eight year adventure of traveling the country in a motorhome, making it to 41 states.Bill is survived by wife, Christina Staley, and his beloved Lab, Sam; Son, Rich Szulborski, wife Erin, grandchildren Lauren and Ryan; Son, Steve, wife Dawn, grandchildren Amber and Katie; Son, Tom, wife Chika, granddaughter, Lana; Daughter, Betsy Butler, fiancé Rick Miller, granddaughter, Ally; Son, Brad Pierce, wife Michelle, grandchildren Luke and Lilian; and, many cousins, nieces, nephews and close friends.Besides travel, Bill loved good food and socializing, spending time with family, going to movies and concerts, making homemade ice cream, playing cards, 50's Music and just living life to the fullest. He never met a stranger and he had a smile that would light up the room.A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 1:00pm, at the home of Betsy Butler and Rick Miller, 5444 Vanderbilt Road, Old Hickory, TN 37138.Please, in lieu of flowers, if you wish, make a donation to your favorite charity in Bill's name.