Dr. William Harrison Stites passed away, Wednesday, December 13,
2006, in Humboldt, Kansas. He was 84 years old. William grew up in the
panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas graduating from Dalhart High School in
1940 after winning the Texas State Championship in individual speech.
Taking a break from his college studies during World War II, he enlisted
with the US Marine Corps and spent 1943-1945 in the Pacific Theater,
leaving at the rank of corporal. William married Mary Frances Laughead
in Denver in 1948 where he received his masters degree from the
University of Denver. Moving to the Northwest he secured his first
teaching position at the University of Portland. Returning to Denver in
1952 Dr. Stites obtained his doctorate from the university. William
completed his journey when he brought the family to Tempe. Dr. Stites
began his long career at what was then known as Arizona State College,
in the Speech & Drama Department. He could often be found in his office
the in the historic Old Main. The debate coach for many years Dr.
Stites, most notably brought his small college team to national
prominence in 1956 by finishing second in the nation in college debate.
His debate teams kept Arizona State in the national spotlight for many
years. He is best remembered for his long tenure as a Speech &
Communications professor at Arizona State University from 1954 to his
retirement in 1986. During the protests of the 60's he was infamous with
ASU Security for parking violations. His protest…the lack of faculty
parking on campus. He refused to pay the tickets. William is survived by
his current wife, Charlotte of Iola, Kansas, children Susanne, Bill,
Melinda, five grandchildren and six great-grandchil-dren. A memorial
service will be held in front of the Old Main Building on the ASU
campus, 400 Tyler Mall, Tempe Arizona at 3 PM on Thursday, December 28,
2006. For futher information call 602-524-7052 or email lounsburyk@hotmail.com
Guest Book for
|
|
|
| |
January 12, 2007 |
 |
Love you dad. Now, you are forever with
mom. Except she might have to share you
with Charlotte when she passes!
In my possession I hold the ashes of two
of the most important people in my life.
Dad, you were always a wonderful dad. I
remember in my teenage years how so many
of my friends had constant complaints
about how their parents treated them Me?
I was so lucky because I never had those
kinds of problems. You and Mom were
always behind me every step of the way.
I miss you, Dad. I love you.
Mindy |
| |
Melinda Lounsbury (Surprise, AZ
)
Contact me
|
| |
January 9, 2007 |
|
|
This is a man that I had known since I
was 16 years old - most of my life. At
first I was intimidated by him. He spoke
loudly and clearly and made his presence
known. As time went by we remained in
contact; I am the mother of two of his
grandchildren and he never treated me
with anything but respect and love. I
lost my own dad many years ago, and Bill
was the most constant father figure I
had in my life from 1977 to the day he
died. He will be missed. |
| |
Molly Shores (Grand Junction, CO
)
Contact me
|
| |
January 4, 2007 |
|
|
May
I extend my deepest sympathy to all of
your family at the loss of your dad and
granddad.
It is a painful thing to lose someone
you love no matter how often you see
them or are with them.
Love is love, plain and simple and loss
is never easy. I lost my father 27 years
ago and it feels as if it could have
been just yesterday.
I hope the memories of what was shared
and learned from each other will be the
sweetness to lighten the pain.
I was honored to be of what little
assistance I was during this time...
meeting most of you and learning first
hand what your family is like.
Thank you for allowing your warmth and
hospitality to shine. It is now and
always will be much appreciated.
|
| |
Sharlynne Le Doux (Oregon City,
OR )
Contact me
|
| |
January 1, 2007 |
|
|
There's a million things I can say, but
will narrow it down to the most
important things that stand out in my
mind about Granddad. My first memories
are of having a few birthday pool
parties at his house There were long
distances of time where I wouldn't see
him, but at about the age of 17, I
suddenly became very close to him. After
he met Dorothy, he and I would keep in
touch, writing to each other every
month. When I graduated from high
school, he and Dorothy drove their motor
home all the way out to Colorado. They
took me shopping the day before and
bought me a dress and shoes to wear
under my gown. It made my day SO special
knowing he was there.
The following spring, he invited my best
friend Tobi and me out to San Juan
Capistrano for a week-long vacation. It
was an eventful trip, to say the least.
After 14 hours of driving there and 90
minutes before our destination, Tobi and
I had a flat tire. We had to fly over 6
lanes w/o hitting anyone, during rush
hour, of course, to pull over. After
climbing a fence and begging a house
owner for help, we finally found someone
to help us change our tire, after
begging him to take us to the tire shop
first for a TIRE! We finally made it
back on the road and had a fabulous time
with Granddad. We went to Disneyland,
the beach and joined him at his favorite
restaurant: SIZZLER ; we were so happy
we made the trip, in spite the problems
we experienced! Two years later, he and
Dorothy drove that same motor home out
to see me get married. Again, for them
to drive such a long way to share a
special occasion with me meant SO much
to me. A couple of years later, we flew
to Oregon to spend Thanksgiving with him
when he and Dorothy lived in Medford,
Oregon. It was such a nice visit.
After many visits to Hurricane and
Panguich, Granddad and Charlotte grew to
love my family. My kids grew very close
to them, too. My heart goes out to
Charlotte, and I hope we stay in touch -
as we have also become very close. We
will miss him terribly, and know that
when it's Chili's time to go, Granddad
will be with his best buddy and with
Ganny. That comforts me. |
| |
Sarah Rutan (Grand Junction, CO
) |
| |
December 30, 2006 |
|
|
My
sympathies to the family. What a
wonderful tribute you have paid to your
Dad.
(a friend of Bill's (jr) |
| |
Joan Toohey (Milford, DE )
Contact me |
| |
December 27, 2006 |
|
|
We
will miss you SO much...you've left a
big impact on all of our lives. |
| |
Sarah Rutan (Grand Junction, CO
)
Contact me |
|
|
|
|
