William Staley

Staley, William "Bill" Joseph, age 84, passed away August 13, 2015, after a mercifully short bout of cancer at Hospice of Dayton. Bill is survived by his children, William Chip J. Staley, Jr. and his children Parker and Alex of Nashville, Tennessee; Samuel Staley of Tallahassee, FL, his wife Susan and their children Claire and Evan of Bellbrook, Ohio and Amy Staley and her husband Paul Hoogland of Shiraishi Island, Japan; and his brother Jack and his wife Ida Jane of Kettering, Ohio. Bill is preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Polly, his parents, Irene Reisz and Elwood Staley of Dayton, Ohio, and his brother Robert Staley. A 1949 graduate of Chaminade High School, Bill attended the University of Dayton on a tennis scholarship before joining the U.S. Army in 1952. He was a Korean War combat veteran, serving on a machine gun crew on the front lines and leaving military service as a sergeant on April 24, 1954. He attended the Ohio State University before becoming a life insurance agent and joining the Million Dollar Roundtable for Midland Mutual Life Insurance Company. Bill developed his passion for skiing while learning to ski on the hills of Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, and he served as president of the Dayton Ski Club twice in the 1950s. Bill became part-owner and then sole owner of SugarCreek Ski Hills in Bellbrook, Ohio during the 1960s, a venture that continued until 1989. He remained active in tennis and skilling while later picking up cycling. He completed his undergraduate studies in liberal arts at Wright State University and all the coursework necessary for a Masters in Humanities. Bill traveled regularly to Colorado and Montana to ski, and participated in numerous long-distance bike rides throughout the Midwest. In the last year alone, he biked 350 miles, skied 50 days, including 10 days at Big Sky, Montana during March 2015. Memorial Mass of Christian Burial at St. Francis of Assisi Church 6245 Wilmington Pk Centerville, OH on Fri. Aug. 21, at 10:30 AM followed by a memorial gathering for friends and former skiers of all ages to celebrate Bill's life and his lifelong contributions to skiing in the Midwest, on Fri. from 12 pm to 2 pm at the Bellbrook/SugarCreek Park District Community Center (former SugarCreek Ski Hills and lodge). In lieu of flowers, contributions should be made to Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Ave, Dayton, Ohio, 45420. Envelopes will be available at the memorial gathering. T P WHITE & SONS Funeral Home, Cincinnati, OH serving the family.