Obituary of Willard Shortall Emery

Willard Shortall (Bill) Emery came into this world May 11, 1929 and was born to the next on June 23, 2015. Although he would have objected to the sentimental characterization, he passed peacefully surrounded by his loving family after a short illness. Bill was born the second of three children to Willard Anthony Emery and E. Ethel Shortall, in Hackensack, New Jersey. The family spent every summer on a boat called Bobilaud. In September of 1938, Bill's father was in the city working when the Great Hurricane struck the New England coastline. Bill singlehandedly kept the Bobilaud afloat during the storm. This was an early indication of Bill's courage and leadership and ability to keep his family safe. During World War II, the boat was requisitioned by the US Navy and was never returned. The family moved from New Jersey to Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1940 and later to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1948. During Bill's school years, he played the saxophone and clarinet in marching bands and in Boston area nightclubs on weekends. His love of music, especially classical and jazz continued throughout his life. He graduated high school from the New York Military Academy in 1946. Bill began his college career at 17. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University in New York, and graduated from Tulsa University in 1951 with a degree in Engineering Physics. It was at Tulsa University where he met the lovely Elizabeth Lee (Betty) McGirl. They married on January 19, 1952. After college, Bill worked for Douglas Aircraft, then Carter Oil in Montana as a doodlebugger, where his first daughter, Linda, was born. Carter asked him to relocate to Venezuela, but he declined and moved his family back to Tulsa, where he joined Southwest Metal Finishing, the company founded by his father, Willard A. Emery, in 1953. His mother, Ethel and brother, Robert, both worked at Southwest in the early years, making it a true family business. By 1958, Southwest received the first aerospace process approvals from North American Aviation, the predecessor to Rockwell International, which was working on the Mercury space program. Bill, his father and brother, built the business by forming Southwest Plastics and Southwest AeroService divisions. What then became Southwest United Industries (SUI) focused on providing specialty finishing services for the aerospace and military manufacturers. By the 1980's it was difficult to find an airplane or helicopter that hadn't been touched by SUI. Southwest participated in all the space programs in the '60's, '70's, '80's and 90's with the space station. The Apollo program development took place in Tulsa in the early 1960's, and many of the key components were manufactured locally. At the time, Southwest was one of the few companies that was certified and could provide processing for the key components used on the Space Shuttle, Space Stations and later, the Apollo program. Southwest provided services for equipment manufactured by Boeing that was part of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, or "Moon Buggy." The Buggy was used in 3 missions in 1971 and 1972, and the Buggy remains on the moon. Additionally during the 60's, significant growth occurred at SUI during the Vietnam war, with Southwest providing the processing services for Bell Helicopter and other military defense contractors. After Bill retired in 1997, his two sons, Willard (Bill) and James (Jim), continued the family legacy and SUI became an international company with six locations and over 350 employees. Bill's love of aircraft, engineering and precision, led him to become a pilot, earning his private pilot's license and later his instrument rating. He owned and flew a Luscombe and later a Mooney. Bill's wife Betty also obtained her pilot's license. Bill and the family visited airports (including Harvey Young Airport every Sunday), air shows, and aviation museums. Bill knew more about the aircraft displayed than any docent. Most recently Bill and his son, Jim, traveled to Oshkosh Wisconsin for the EAA AirVenture air show in 2013 which they previous had visited in 1975. Bill described the last trip to Oshkosh as one of the highlights of his life. Bill had a love of cameras, vintage pens, art and architecture, industrial design, almost anything that combines the beautiful and the practical. He was an accomplished photographer and avid camera collector. He documented each photo, not just with date and subject, but with notations of which camera and lens was used, exposure, film used and lighting. Bill was a respected collector of Leica and Zeiss equipment. He and his first wife Betty were well-known at the regional camera shows, making life-long friends all over the country. All who met Bill knew of his love of books. He had favorite non-fiction authors and subjects, which he loved to discuss in detail. He was a great student of history, and was captivated with larger-than-life icons from Napoleon to Winston Churchill. A quote from Winston Churchill sums up Bill's professional life and personal philosophy: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Bill always had pockets in his sweaters to carry cards for favorite references, new vocabulary or interesting quotations or passages. He loved obscure words and their meanings. His grandchildren all learned what "facetious" meant as he rolled his eyes telling a not-so-serious story. Bill shared his sense of humor with everyone he met, frequently at the expense of himself, never those around him. He told a good story and appreciated a good story, whether or not they were entirely true. Bill met his second wife, Joyce Ziegler, at a wedding of mutual friends in April 30,1994, and they married later that year on November 25th. The couple remodeled and extended their home in Tulsa. Bill designed every detail and oversaw the implementation of all building and remodel projects. Bill and Joyce enjoyed traveling to see their children, grandchildren and friends, and made trips to Paris and Rome. Bill was preceded in death by his wife of 41 years, Elizabeth Lee McGirl; sister, Audrey Emery Mankoff; and brother, Robert Shortall Emery. Bill is survived by his wife, Joyce Ziegler Emery; his daughter, Linda Lee Emery; daughter, Kristen Ann Emery; daughter, Diane Marie Emery and husband Warren Ser; son, Willard Anthony Emery and wife Debi; daughter Lisa Emery Bell and husband J.William; son, James Michael Emery; grandchildren Brian Christopher Emery and wife Cassidy, Allison Elizabeth Emery, Katie Emery Toews and husband Kevin, Samuel Emery Ser, Sara Elizabeth Beardshear, Carly Marie Beardshear, Abraham Emery Ser, Elizabeth Emery Ser; great-granddaughter Adelaide Isabelle Toews; and beloved sister-in-law, Mary Ann Emery. Bill is also survived by his stepdaughters, Jody Z. Whitsett and husband James, Jane Z. Snedden and husband Jack Robin III, and Lisa Joanne Ziegler, and grand-children, Jacquelyn Joyce Whitsett, Jack Robin Snedden IV, Thomas Jameson Whitsett, Beverly Joyce Ziegler, Paul Joseph Ziegler, Joanna Ruth Snedden, Alana Joanne Ziegler, John Sergei Snedden, Joseph Raymond Snedden, Catherine Joy Ziegler and Jesse Robert Willard Snedden. There will be a rosary held at St. Pius X Catholic Church at 7:00 PM on Sunday, June 28 and the funeral mass will be held at St. Pius X on Monday, June 29 at 11:00 AM. The St. Pius X address is: 1717 South 75th East Avenue, Tulsa, OK. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Saint Pius X School Capital Campaign. Please mail donations to: St. Pius X School Capital Campaign, 1717 South 75th East Avenue, Tulsa, OK, 74112.