Surnames: Culpepper, Hurt, Bartlett, Dill, Haugen, Williams William "Bill" Joseph Cullpepper, 75, a former resident of The Dalles and a resident of Prineville (Oregon), died at a camping resort near LaPine (Oregon) on Friday, May 31, 2002. He was born June 7, 1926 in Eminence, Missouri to Lewis Bobson Culpepper and Nellie Alpha Hurt. During the late 1930s the family moved to Sisters (Oregon) to obtain work in the timber industry. They then moved to Prineville in 1941 where he attended school at Crook County High. Like many of his generation, he did not graduate but chose to serve his country and fight during World War II. He was a Carpenter's Mate in the Navy and landed on Okinawa to help build an air base. Returning home after the war he married his high school sweetheart, Donna Jean, on October 27, 1946 in Prineville. During the first years of their marriage he held many jobs, selling shoes, working as a butcher, cabinet maker and in construction. In 1949 he began work as a diesel mechanic. The family moved to The Dalles in 1957 where he worked for Empire and Stone Machinery and Halton Tractor as a mechanic and service manager. He retired in 1989 and they began traveling in the RV (recreational vehicle) around the U.S. and for the last 12 years have traveled seasonally between Mesa, Arizona and Oregon. He played football, basketball and baseball in high school and enjoyed ballroom dancing, snow skiing and in later life took up tennis. He enjoyed the mountains and lakes of Oregon and was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed camping. He joined the Latter-day Saints Church in 1953. The family was sealed in the Mesa Arizona Temple in 1955. He was an active member of the church and held many positions, Sunday School teacher and Sunday School President on the ward and stake level. He was a member of the Branch Presidency in The Dalles and in his later years performed a great deal of Temple services. Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Donna, Prineville; sisters, Nadine Bartlett and Flossie Dill, both of Prineville; and Mildred Dill, Mattawa, Washington; children, JoAnn Haugen, Dallas (Oregon); Jerry Culpepper, Prineville; Jim Culpepper, Boise, Idaho; John Culpepper, Canby (Oregon); and Jan Williams, Hood River; 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held on Wednesday, June 5, at the LDS church in Prineville. Burial followed at Juniper Haven Cemetery in Prineville. Arrangements were by the Prineville Funeral Home. The Dalles Chronicle June 5, 2002 Written permission to reprint obituary given by The Dalles Chronicle, The Dalles, Oregon. Copied and submitted by Earline Wasser.