William "Bill" Hibler

William Robert Hibler was born December 15, 1938, at his parents' home in Hartley, Texas. He was the son of Bobbie Reid and Harvey Hibler. Bill was the fourth of nine children, eight of whom survived to adulthood, and was raised in the panhandle, north of the Canadian River. Attending Dumas High School, he played football and made friends that he maintained throughout life, graduating as part of the Class of '57. While working as a driller in Hidalgo County, Texas, he met and soon married Leonora Luce, an educator. Not long afterward, he travelled overseas to work in Kuwait and Nigeria. Upon his return, he greeted his wife and their daughter, Lauralee, in Shenandoah, Virginia. Bill's son Will was also greeted by the family within several years, and Norie stayed at home to raise them through toddlerhood before returning to teaching in the area. During this time, Bill worked as a hand on a registered Angus farm, specializing in fitting and showing. He started college in 1969, working a variety of jobs, and taking the kids fishing as much as he could. His family saw Bill graduate with a Bachelor of Arts from Madison College in 1973. The family relocated to Northumberland County, Virginia, and both he and Norie taught in nearby districts. Bill bought a dead-rise 39 ft. workboat and began fishing professionally for blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay, based out of Dividing Creek, trying it out over the summer months. He left teaching to become a full-time waterman, crabbing in the summer and buying oysters during the winter. In 1976, he loaded the family and several friends into his boat and took it out into the Bay to see the tall ships making their way up the coast toward New York City in celebration of the Bicentennial. 1978 saw Bill and Norie loading up the kids and horses and relocating to Willcox, Arizona, where they both taught in the Willcox School system. Here they finished raising their children and enjoyed many friendships within the community. Bill taught at the Middle School, in addition earning his Master of Education degree in 1983. By the time he retired, he had taught several subjects, including math, English, and English as a Second Language. During the summer he would occasionally moonlight at the sale barn, especially when he had a young horse he wanted to introduce to cattle work. Before and after his retirement, Bill enjoyed working with horses, hunting, and fishing (not necessarily in that order). One of his favorite activities was bass fishing with friends and family in Angostura, Mexico. He also enjoyed pursuing desert quail in southeast Arizona with his German Shorthair Pointer, Dixie, who accompanied him to hunt upland birds in west central Idaho, where his daughter and son-in-law resided for a number of years. Bill was a master storyteller, and some of his stories were based on truth. His father worked one of the last drives up the Chisholm trail and had a prized racing mule. His grandfather was the foreman of the southern quarter of the XIT ranch. His family was large and lively. Bill lived a full, rich life and loved fun and adventure. He is survived by his daughter, Lauralee (Ross) Kane, his son, Will, his sister Donna (John) Bosholm, and brother Michael Hibler. He was "Pop-pop" to his grand-children, Will's boys, Jack and Sam Hibler. He also leaves many nieces and nephews who held places in his heart. At Bill's request, there will be no service.

William "Bill" Hibler

December 15, 1938 - April 6, 2026