William "Bill" Runkel

On Saturday, April 10, 2021, William Keith Runkel, loving husband and father to two sons and one stepdaughter, passed away at the age of 64. He was known to all simply as Bill. Funeral services will be 2:00 PM Friday, April 16, 2021 at Cox-Rowley Funeral Home Chapel, 4180 Canyon Drive, with Rev. Jeff Pies officiating. The family will receive friends from 5:00 -7:00 PM Thursday at the funeral home.

Bill was born on October 19, 1956 in San Antonio, TX to Mark and Ruth Runkel. Following in his father’s footsteps, after graduating from Jacksonville High School (Class of ’74), he joined the U.S. Air Force as an E-1 Airman Basic. On October 25, 1981, his first son, Daniel, was born, followed by his second son, Gary, on June 13, 1983. On August 2, 1991, he married Robin Ann Payne, doubling his family with a new stepdaughter, Brittany, in addition to his two sons.

Having served his country all over the world, including Spain and South Korea, for 20 years, Bill retired from military service in 1994 as an E-6 Tech Sergeant. He was last stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base near Wichita Falls, TX, and used his experience working in information technology to create a lifelong career as an IT specialist. Formerly of IBM and AT&T, Bill most recently worked for BSA Health System in Amarillo, TX as a network engineer.

Bill’s skill in IT translated into many of the things he loved: buildings models, putting together Lego sets, all things electronic, and just fixing things that needed to be fixed. He enjoyed traveling, which he continued extensively after his military service, and was in Paris, France the day Notre Dame burned, along with his wife, Robin, and sister-in-law, Vickie. He relished telling stories about his travels and he had plenty of stories to tell, especially from Spain, where he once ran with the bulls. Bill also loved reading sci-fi novels and the works of author Stephen King, as well as books on history and science. If he could figure out how something was made, he would.

Bill was preceded in death by his father, Mark, his mother, Ruth, and his sister, Holly. He is survived by his wife Robin, his sons, Daniel and Gary, his stepdaughter, Brittany, 11 grandchildren, his brother Jeffrey, and his sister, Cheryl. He also leaves behind many other friends and family, including many nieces, nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews. All of whom miss him greatly.

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