William Bonnie Campbell

Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, William Bonnie Campbell was called to his eternal home on Sunday, June 16, 2019. Born on January 7, 1933 to Bonnie and Paula Campbell of Salida, Colorado, he grew up in the Colorado mountains alongside one brother, Robert, who predeceased him. After graduating from Salida HS in 1951, he pursued a Petroleum Engineering degree at the School of Mines where he met his wife, Jean Oechsli. They were married for nearly 50 years and had 5 children and 14 grandchildren. Bill’s career as an Engineer and Project Manager provided the opportunity for he and Jean to travel the world together. Lovingly remembered as Bill or Papa, he ended his earthly journey in Hot Springs Village nearest to the residence of his eldest daughter, Kim and her family. He was a kind, generous man with a golden heart who loved deeply. Each family gathering was marked with some sort of special activity like scavenger hunts, flying kites and water sports with plenty of floatation devices and drink holders. He was the best set of hands in the kitchen, his specialties were meat pasties, crab salad and his special blue cheese salad dressing. He was the greatest storyteller, gave the best toasts and told the funniest jokes. He made certain to teach the youngest of the family proper behavior at the dinner table including ice fights and cloth napkins fashioned into hats for their heads. He was an entrepreneur at heart and could re-engineer anything. In his later years he enjoyed watching and feeding local birds with his numerous bird feeders. Bill is survived by his loving wife of 14 years Shirley Barnard, his five children, William Campbell Jr. (Kristin), Kimberly Claassen (Murray), Robert Campbell (Joyce), Kerry Buhler (John) and Jennifer Lage (Mike) and 14 grandchildren.  During his marriage to Shirley he was loved by a wonderful extended family. While living in Arkansas he became a Great Papa welcoming great grandson, Austin Matthew, followed by two baby girls earlier this year, Olivia Jean and Addison SeDell. Our lives were touched and will never be the same again without Papa. We all love you so. Deep Peace and enjoy your reunion with Mama Jean in heaven. Funeral service will be held in Salida, Colorado in the near future. A memorial donation may be made to Catholic Charities at catholiccharitiesusa.org or The Audubon Society at Audubon.org.