"Horseshoe" Bill
Joe Bill Holland-Waisner was born March 31, 1945 to Opal VanBuren Holland and Zelpha Irene Fowler and passed away December 22, 2022 at Cox Hospital, Springfield, Missouri. His father Opal died of TB when he was nine years old and he was raised by his step-father, Elbert Pershing Waisner.
Bill loved life and lived it to the fullest. He loved his family, friends and everyone he met. He used to say “When I die it will be with a satisfied mind.”
Bill was a 1963 graduate of Derby High School and held a lot of school records for physical fitness.
After graduation from Derby High School he attended Wichita Vo Tech majoring in Diesel Mechanic repair.
Bill played semi-pro baseball for Derby Oil Company and was a pitcher and one of the best catchers ever. His favorite part of baseball was when he got to play with Sachel Paige in Kansas.
Bill and I were childhood sweethearts after moving into our neighborhood when I was 10. My mother babysat with his younger sister and when I was 17 he ask me out on a date and then our life began. He ask me to marry him and got me a ring for my 18th birthday. Bill and I married April 26, 1965 at Central Methodist Church in Wichita, KS. and then came our first son, Richard Lee Waisner. After the delivery and everything was okay, Bill left the hospital to go do his first solo skydiving jump. His parachute didn’t open, so he used his secondary parachute, which jerked him so hard he had bruises just like his parachute straps.
Bill then worked two jobs. He worked for Vern Valdois at the service station in Derby, KS. and Boeing Aircraft in Wichita, KS. Vern was also a professional horseshoe pitcher and taught Bill to pitch horseshoes and to compete in many tournaments. Bill was 7th in the Kansas State Horsehoe Pitching tournament at age 18.
In order to obtain his journeyman mechanic license he had to work in a union shop for 3 years, so he chose White Motor Company in Kansas City, MO. where his uncle Chester Fowler worked. He later took a class in air conditioning repair so he would be a more valuable employee.
While we were in Kansas City, MO. Our 2nd child was born, Jodie Michele Waisner (Olinger) was born. After Bill finished his training we moved back to Wichita where he was employed by International Harvester Company. He soon tired of punching the time clock and went to his final employment of a bricklaying, which he continued until 2000.
Then our youngest son, Robert William Waisner was born in Wichita, KS.
Then Bill got into stock car racing at 81 Speedway in Wichita, KS. He built a car with Ellis Farley and they competed every weekend. One day he was ready to leave the house and we always had the 3 kids get on the porch when he pulled out the circle drive. Well Robert being an onery 18 month old decided he was going with his dad, got off the porch and went to the other side of the trailer and Bill ran over him. He grabbed him and drove one handed to the hospital leaving me behind. I got to the hospital only to find Robert laughing and drinking his bottle. Our driveway had washed out enough that his leg had gone down in the rut and it was only a hairline fracture. When he got to the race track the other drivers knew he was a new driver, so it was customary to run them off the track or flip their car. Well that happened to Bill and he got out laughing and being interviewed by the local radio station KTTS.
He tried ice fishing, using my 1966 Mustang onto the ice at Cheney Lake to see if was frozen hard enough. He drove his car at Kansas City drag strip. He continued to follow the NASCAR circuit on TV and he loved to go to Tulsa and watch the Chili Bowl races.
These are some of the stories of who I married and it only continued to be a life of never knowing what would happen next.
In 1976 Bill loved to bass fish so he came home and decided to move to Table Rock Lake area where we went every year on vacation at Vernon Stubblefield’s home. Bill fished the ProAm Bass Fishing circuit in Springfield for many years with Bill Gaston who he fishes with now and Steve Swadley. He has many pictures of the 8 lb. Bass he caught during that time.
Then Bill started horseshoe pitching in Springfield again at the Repair Shop and Phelps Grove Park and Ron Frakes, Eugene Carter, and Bill got the Repair Shop to hosted a state tournament there.
Then Bill came to the Broiler Festival which only had 6 dirt horseshoe courts when we moved here. Bill was instrumental in getting the local pitchers to get land across the Crane Creek and built the 12 courts that are there today. In 1988 the first Missouri State Horseshoe Tournament was held in the park. This could not have been done without the help of the City of Crane, Jack Swearingin, Gary Bowling, R.A. Bowling, John Hall, Noel Henry, Robert Bowling, Raymond Bowling and all of the horseshoe pitchers who helped clear the land, build pits, and pour cement; the wives who helped by cooking hamburgers and making pies; and everyone selling sponsor signs to pay off the loan at the bank.
Bill worked with two young individuals teaching and couching them to become horseshoe pitchers. They were Wesley Bowling and Levi Blevins both of Galena who became Junior State Champion Horseshoe Pitchers.
Bill taught me how to pitch horseshoes and Bill and I both won a World Horseshoe Pitching Trophy in 1989 in Spearfish, South Dakota as well. Every weekend we traveled somewhere in Missouri to compete and usually win a trophy. He taught our boys to pitch horseshoes and they received many trophies and it became a family tradition. While our daughter chose to play softball for charities.
Bill’s other love was music. His mother taught him to play the piano, but called him Liberace so he quit playing the piano. When we moved to K.C. he bought a Martin guitar and started playing again. When he wasn’t pitching horseshoes or bass fishing, he would be playing his Grammer guitar. He had people come to the house, they played at Reggie Kuhs cabinet shop and later became one of the original “Flying Buzzards” with Webb Murray, John Amos, and Dwayne Blevins. He loved bluegrass and country music and he could write a song in 30 minutes. He learned to play the Mandolin as well as our son Robert, grandson Dylan and he passed on his love of music to our two other grandchildren, Mandi and Michael.
Bill was diagnosed with Tuberculin Meningitis in 2000 it started the multiple medical problems he had. Dr. Sistrunk had trained at Mayo and said if I don’t treat him now he will die in 2 days, so he treated him with meds for the disease and saved his life. Dr. Sistrunk’s wife said he spent more time with Bill than he did with his own triplets.
One thing he told everyone was don’t whine and complain about how bad you feel until you see the kids at Mayo who are dying.
Having spent the last 30 days in the hospital with Bill only drew us closer together. Thank you God for letting me spend all these years with a wonderful, onery husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, December 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. in the First Baptist Church Crane, Missouri. Burial was in the First Baptist Church Cemetery under the care of Westrip Funeral Home.
Joe Bill Holland-Waisner was born March 31, 1945 to Opal VanBuren Holland and Zelpha Irene Fowler and passed away December 22, 2022 at Cox Hospital, Springfield, Missouri. His father Opal died of TB when he was nine years old and he was raised by his step-father, Elbert Pershing Waisner.
Bill loved life and lived it to the fullest. He loved his family, friends and everyone he met. He used to say “When I die it will be with a satisfied mind.”
Bill was a 1963 graduate of Derby High School and held a lot of school records for physical fitness.
After graduation from Derby High School he attended Wichita Vo Tech majoring in Diesel Mechanic repair.
Bill played semi-pro baseball for Derby Oil Company and was a pitcher and one of the best catchers ever. His favorite part of baseball was when he got to play with Sachel Paige in Kansas.
Bill and I were childhood sweethearts after moving into our neighborhood when I was 10. My mother babysat with his younger sister and when I was 17 he ask me out on a date and then our life began. He ask me to marry him and got me a ring for my 18th birthday. Bill and I married April 26, 1965 at Central Methodist Church in Wichita, KS. and then came our first son, Richard Lee Waisner. After the delivery and everything was okay, Bill left the hospital to go do his first solo skydiving jump. His parachute didn’t open, so he used his secondary parachute, which jerked him so hard he had bruises just like his parachute straps.
Bill then worked two jobs. He worked for Vern Valdois at the service station in Derby, KS. and Boeing Aircraft in Wichita, KS. Vern was also a professional horseshoe pitcher and taught Bill to pitch horseshoes and to compete in many tournaments. Bill was 7th in the Kansas State Horsehoe Pitching tournament at age 18.
In order to obtain his journeyman mechanic license he had to work in a union shop for 3 years, so he chose White Motor Company in Kansas City, MO. where his uncle Chester Fowler worked. He later took a class in air conditioning repair so he would be a more valuable employee.
While we were in Kansas City, MO. Our 2nd child was born, Jodie Michele Waisner (Olinger) was born. After Bill finished his training we moved back to Wichita where he was employed by International Harvester Company. He soon tired of punching the time clock and went to his final employment of a bricklaying, which he continued until 2000.
Then our youngest son, Robert William Waisner was born in Wichita, KS.
Then Bill got into stock car racing at 81 Speedway in Wichita, KS. He built a car with Ellis Farley and they competed every weekend. One day he was ready to leave the house and we always had the 3 kids get on the porch when he pulled out the circle drive. Well Robert being an onery 18 month old decided he was going with his dad, got off the porch and went to the other side of the trailer and Bill ran over him. He grabbed him and drove one handed to the hospital leaving me behind. I got to the hospital only to find Robert laughing and drinking his bottle. Our driveway had washed out enough that his leg had gone down in the rut and it was only a hairline fracture. When he got to the race track the other drivers knew he was a new driver, so it was customary to run them off the track or flip their car. Well that happened to Bill and he got out laughing and being interviewed by the local radio station KTTS.
He tried ice fishing, using my 1966 Mustang onto the ice at Cheney Lake to see if was frozen hard enough. He drove his car at Kansas City drag strip. He continued to follow the NASCAR circuit on TV and he loved to go to Tulsa and watch the Chili Bowl races.
These are some of the stories of who I married and it only continued to be a life of never knowing what would happen next.
In 1976 Bill loved to bass fish so he came home and decided to move to Table Rock Lake area where we went every year on vacation at Vernon Stubblefield’s home. Bill fished the ProAm Bass Fishing circuit in Springfield for many years with Bill Gaston who he fishes with now and Steve Swadley. He has many pictures of the 8 lb. Bass he caught during that time.
Then Bill started horseshoe pitching in Springfield again at the Repair Shop and Phelps Grove Park and Ron Frakes, Eugene Carter, and Bill got the Repair Shop to hosted a state tournament there.
Then Bill came to the Broiler Festival which only had 6 dirt horseshoe courts when we moved here. Bill was instrumental in getting the local pitchers to get land across the Crane Creek and built the 12 courts that are there today. In 1988 the first Missouri State Horseshoe Tournament was held in the park. This could not have been done without the help of the City of Crane, Jack Swearingin, Gary Bowling, R.A. Bowling, John Hall, Noel Henry, Robert Bowling, Raymond Bowling and all of the horseshoe pitchers who helped clear the land, build pits, and pour cement; the wives who helped by cooking hamburgers and making pies; and everyone selling sponsor signs to pay off the loan at the bank.
Bill worked with two young individuals teaching and couching them to become horseshoe pitchers. They were Wesley Bowling and Levi Blevins both of Galena who became Junior State Champion Horseshoe Pitchers.
Bill taught me how to pitch horseshoes and Bill and I both won a World Horseshoe Pitching Trophy in 1989 in Spearfish, South Dakota as well. Every weekend we traveled somewhere in Missouri to compete and usually win a trophy. He taught our boys to pitch horseshoes and they received many trophies and it became a family tradition. While our daughter chose to play softball for charities.
Bill’s other love was music. His mother taught him to play the piano, but called him Liberace so he quit playing the piano. When we moved to K.C. he bought a Martin guitar and started playing again. When he wasn’t pitching horseshoes or bass fishing, he would be playing his Grammer guitar. He had people come to the house, they played at Reggie Kuhs cabinet shop and later became one of the original “Flying Buzzards” with Webb Murray, John Amos, and Dwayne Blevins. He loved bluegrass and country music and he could write a song in 30 minutes. He learned to play the Mandolin as well as our son Robert, grandson Dylan and he passed on his love of music to our two other grandchildren, Mandi and Michael.
Bill was diagnosed with Tuberculin Meningitis in 2000 it started the multiple medical problems he had. Dr. Sistrunk had trained at Mayo and said if I don’t treat him now he will die in 2 days, so he treated him with meds for the disease and saved his life. Dr. Sistrunk’s wife said he spent more time with Bill than he did with his own triplets.
One thing he told everyone was don’t whine and complain about how bad you feel until you see the kids at Mayo who are dying.
Having spent the last 30 days in the hospital with Bill only drew us closer together. Thank you God for letting me spend all these years with a wonderful, onery husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, December 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. in the First Baptist Church Crane, Missouri. Burial was in the First Baptist Church Cemetery under the care of Westrip Funeral Home.