William Newell Harker, 'Bill' was born on March 27, 1933 to George and Nancy Harker in Meeker, Colorado. He grew up on the Western slope of Colorado on a ranch in Rio Blanco County. His parents split up shortly after he was born and he was raised early on by his Maternal Grandmother Ellie Newell. And Uncle Fred Dauth where he helped build the Ripple Creek Lodge east of Meeker, Colorado. Later he went on to live with his mother Nancy and her husband Mick Fleming. Dad was blessed as he had two families that called him Bill. Fortunately Dad had a big heart as he was loved by an extended family which included two brothers and four sisters. Dad went on to graduate in 1950 from Pueblo Catholic High School in Pueblo, Colorado. He attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado and then went on the Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He spent a lot of his time at what he considered home at the Ripple Creek Lodge while he was in college. Dad told us how he would take a train from Creighton University to Rifle, Colorado and then would pick up his horse 'Brownie' from friends and would ride to the Ripple Creek Lodge. He told us a story of how it was snowing one time on the ride home and he said to his horse, 'Brownie go home.' He said Brownie delivered him to the lodge and they had to break him off his saddle as he had become frozen to it. Dad was a hunting guide in the Routt National Forest and he spent his early years as a hunting and fishing guide for folks from the Ripple Creek Lodge. Dad was a cowboy gentleman and loved to tell us stories of the Old West. Sometimes I think he was born in the wrong era. Dad was a true gentleman through and through and he wouldn't allow us to use any bad words around Mom! Funny thing is we always told our funny/bad jokes to Mom! Dad served two years active duty in the US Naval Reserve and was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station just outside Chicago, IL, which he thought was particularly funny. Dad loved the water and sailing was a passion of his. He was introduced to racing sail boats with Dick Clary and he enjoyed this time greatly. He owned several sailboats and he spent a great deal of time on the Grand Lake of the Cherokees in northeastern Oklahoma. Dad came to Tulsa University on the GI Bill and graduated with a B.A. degree in Industrial Psychology. At TU is where he met mom, Ann Beyhan. They married on June 27, 1959 and just recently celebrated 58 years of marriage. Brother Jack and Mike were born here in Tulsa and then Dad took a job at Corning Glass and he was moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma where he was a Plant Manager. Then Mom and Dad had me and Brother Dave and he was moved with the company to Corning, New York and was there for almost 5 years. Another move with Corning Glass brought him to Shawnee, Oklahoma where Brother Tony was born. He took a job at Liberty Glass in Sapulpa, Oklahoma and he and mom made their home back in Tulsa which was good as they were close to numerous life-long friends and family. When most of us boys were in college, Dad decided to go back to school. This was fun for him as he was in upper level courses and he would proudly display his grades on the refrigerator for everyone to see. Dad was a straight 'A' student in his adult life and he loved to rub in it to all of us and he was 'that guy!' When the end of a chapter had suggested reading to understand the subject he would go check out those books to further his knowledge. Dad graduated from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma with a Master's Degree in Psychology. He was a Licensed Professional Counselor and had his Master in Social Work. He worked for the rest of his career helping people at several of the psychological service centers here in the Tulsa area, Broken Arrow Mental Health and Shadow Mountain. Dad and Mom were heavily involved in our sporting events. Mom used to say she and Dad had 'bleacher butt' and they were 2 ships passing in the night as they rearranged their work schedules to take us to every sporting event known to man. Dad remarked that back in the 1950's he was the only English speaking member of the TU Soccer Team. He coached several of our teams and had a love for the game. He especially enjoyed watching his grandsons playing the game for years. Several of our friends have told us they loved our parents as if they were their own. Mom and Dad had a very welcoming home and they often remarked it had a revolving door as we went in every direction. To say they were welcoming is actually an understatement, who else could bring their entire 30 person Pledge Class home to the Harker's after running out of money on our Pledge Sneak in Dallas, Texas at 4 o'clock in the morning! I remember Dad and covering guys with sheets and blankets and they even provided a pancake breakfast for us all. Dad and Mom had a 'second career' and were very crafty people. I remember Dad saying he needed to write a book about 'How we made everything but Money!' They traveled in their 'retirement years' to craft shows all over the country and either made or sold many different items. Bill loved woodworking either carving animals at Scout camp or making western red cedar baskets for his company 'Cedar Works.' Dad loved teaching his grandsons to work alongside him in his workshop. Dad recently sold his house to the son of a family friend and moved in with Brother Mike. He spent the rest of his years relaxing and taking care of Mom. It was helpful that Dad was a 'voracious' reader as he was still getting several books a week at the public library and they knew Dad by his first name. Dad took his vows of marriage seriously and when Mom presented with early signs of Dementia and Alzheimer's Dad's role changed to that of caretaker. He took care of Mom for many years, much longer than he probably needed to do, and finally made the tough decision to have Mom placed into a Memory Care Facility. Dad visited Mom almost daily and would spend a lot of time just being with her as the disease progressed. Bill is survived by his wife Ann of Tulsa; his son Jack and spouse Martin of Tulsa; his son Mike and wife Janelle; his son Pat and wife Paula; his son David and wife Jana; and his son Tony. He is also survived by his brother Mike and wife Linda Fleming of Connecticut; sister Nancy and husband John Koenig of Georgetown, Texas; his sister Joyce Saitta of Denver, Colorado; his sister Jan and husband Frank Adams of Westminster, Colorado; and brother Pete and Beth Harker of Clarion, Iowa. He is also survived by his grandsons Patrick, Bryan, Davis, Matthew and John Luke Harker all of Broken Arrow; grandsons Chad Edsell of Waskom, Texas; Craig and Cory Edsell of Tulsa, Ok; and great grand-children Gabby, Little Chad and Gracie of Waskom, Texas. He was preceded in death by his younger sister Marie Harker of Denver, Colorado and granddaughter Charlie-Ann Harker of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Service: 07/19/2017 00:00 1:30 PM Butler-Stumpff Funeral Home Chapel 2103 East Third Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104