William Staats

ARNOLD MOORE & NEEKAMP FUNERAL HOME, BARTLESVILLE, OK - William Neal Staats, age 86, passed away Monday, July 28, 2014 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He was born June 2, 1928 in Washington County, Oklahoma outside Dewey to William Hugh Vandever and Carmel Jane (Asbell) Vandever. He went to live with Carl W. and Edna (Kelly) Staats in 1934 after Mrs. Vandever died. He was called "Bill" at school and "Neal" by family and close friends. He was raised in Bartlesville by the Staats family and graduated from College High School in 1947. Bill always felt welcomed and loved by the Staatses and considered them to be his family. In the late ‘40s, he attended Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri where he met his future bride, "Ann" (Mary Ann Lee), on a blind date at a barn dance. They wed in 1950. After moving back to Bartlesville, Bill worked for his father, Carl Staats, in the oil & gas business until the senior Staats passed away in 1967. Edna Staats passed in 1977. Bill and Ann were married 46 years until Ann passed away in 1996. They had three children: William Neal Staats, Jr., John Barrett Staats and David Carl Staats. Bill is preceded in death by his parents, C. W. and Edna Staats; his brother, Carl Wendell Staats, Jr., who died in 1944 while serving in WWII; his nephew, Charles J. Martin, Jr.; and his beloved wife, Ann Lee Staats. Survivors include son, William Neal Staats, Jr. of Bartlesville and his wife, Rae Lawrence Staats; son, John Barrett Staats and his wife, Susan Staats of Bartlesville; and son, David Carl Staats of Bedford, Texas. Other survivors include grandchildren, William N. Staats, III and Cassandra Rae Staats of Humble, Texas; Samantha Jo Staats of Dallas, Texas; Kari Ann Staats Deckard and her husband, Casey Deckard, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Lee Burch Staats May, her husband, Floyd May, and great-granddaughters, Chloe May and Jocelyn May of Tulsa, Oklahoma; grandson, John B. Staats, Jr., of Duncan, Oklahoma; granddaughter, Emily Ann Staats Waggoner and her husband, Andrew Waggoner, and twin great-granddaughters, Audrey Waggoner and Emma Waggoner of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and granddaughter, Sadie Olivia Staats of Westport, Connecticut. Also surviving are his sister, Mary Staats Martin; brother-in-law, Charles J. Martin; Bill's nephews, Steve Martin and Robbie Martin and their families; and the family of Charles J. Martin, Jr. Bill will be greatly missed by his family and friends and residents of Washington County, Oklahoma, where he spent his entire life.

Visitation Details

Thursday, July 31st, 2014 7:00pm - 8:00pm, Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home

Service Details

Friday, August 1st, 2014 3:00pm, Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home

Interment Details

Memorial Park Cemetery Bartlesville