Wilbur (Wil) Carl Haley was born on July 22nd, 1931 in Boynton, Oklahoma. He passed peacefully at home 87 years later on November 21st, 2018 in Winnemucca, NV, his home of 47 years.
Wil served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War and was stationed in Guam from 1951-1954. After his years in the military he attended Southern California Bible College for two years, Long Beach City College, and in later years, Great Basin Community College.
Wil has a long history of various jobs as an aviator but most notably, Chief Pilot for Rayrock Mines from 1984-1996. He continued flying until 80 years of age as a Captain for the Civil Air Patrol Search & Rescue. He also was treasurer for the Pleasant Senior Center for 11 years.
Wil’s greatest love was his family and he craved adventure and the great outdoors.
During his service with the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) surveying and monitoring wild mustangs, he would discover amazing “oases in the desert” and then go figure out how to get there, whether there were roads or not.
We drove across the sides of mountains, perched on the sides of cliffs, and we always had a shovel ready because there was no adventure complete until we had gotten stuck!
We followed wild mustangs by airplane and looked for arrowheads, named plants and trees and wondered wild trails by foot. One of his favorite questions was, “Should I stall the airplane?”. And he’d laugh! The roar of the engine would go completely silent, and we’d glide. Then, the inevitable nose dive while we watched the dog slowly levitate.
We even had a cat on board at one point, but thankfully, this only happened once.
Wil is survived by his wife of 61 years, Glenda Elizabeth Haley, four daughters, Laurel Alene Haley, Amy Elizabeth Tipsord, Tamra Deanne Ashley and Beth Anne Haley.
Grandchildren; Christopher Coombes, Crystal Coombes, Caleb Coombes, Tara Williamson, Alexander Clark, Alan Ashley, Lindsey Ashley, Nathan Ashley, Nicos Avalos,Moriah Croteau, Andre Avalos and Micah Avalos. Great-Grandchildren; Makenzie Ashley, Payton “Wilbur” Blair, Maizy Blair, Esme Croteau and Hayden Ashley.
Our beloved Papa, a father, a great grandfather, and amazing husband.
