William "Bill" Streiff

Dec 8, 2021

William "Bill" I. Streiff passed in December 2021, at the age of 89, just barely shy from turning 90, after living his best life ever.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Myrtle and Ivor Streiff, he was a precocious child. He loved to tell stories and told many about his youth. He liked to tell the one where he would sell a coke bottle for 10 cents to buy a pack of tobacco and paper, then have a penny leftover for a piece of Dubble Bubble gum. He was only 10 years old!

Bill graduated from Amon Carter Riverside High School. He played first-string varsity football. He also excelled at the violin and became Concertmaster at the Annual All-City Orchestra and Chorus in his senior year. He went on to receive a petroleum engineering degree from Texas A&M. After college, he moved back to Fort Worth and went to work at General Dynamics. He married, in 1953, his high school sweetheart, Jo Ann. They had two children together: Craig and Cindy. He divorced and moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1977, and started working for Teledyne Merla. During this time, he married his soulmate, LaJuana. She had one son, Ken. Over the following three years, Bill worked a month on/month off in Tripoli, Libya. In 1980, Bill, LaJuana and dog Clowny moved to Anchorage, Alaska. He traveled frequently to the North Slope. After a few years, Teledyne pulled out of Alaska, so Bill did contract work for ARCO. In the mid-80s, he and LaJuana started Neighborhood Watch in Anchorage and worked with the Anchorage Police Crime Prevention Department. He then went on to work for Guardian Security. In 1993, when LaJuana fell sick with lymphoma, he became her main caregiver. After LaJuana passed in 2005, he went back to work for a small oil company. Bill and LaJuana were both very social and were long-term members of the Petroleum Club, where they built some very good friendships while residing in College Village.

Bill enjoyed playing tennis and golf until his knees wore out, but he always enjoyed movies, TV, reading, music, playing bridge and poker. He was an excellent dancer and could whip you up a mean martini or Manhattan anytime. He was a big animal lover and many of his stories always involved his pets. His dog, Maddie, kept him company in his final years.

He was very happy until he had the stroke, which completely paralyzed his left side. His heart finally failed four years later. A small service is planned in Weatherford, Texas, in November 2023, at Memory Gardens. His ashes will be buried next to LaJuana. He had a headstone made for them. Her side says, "Beautiful Sleeping Lady, Born to Achieve – She got Things Done" and his says "Luckiest Person Ever Born."

Finally, Bill loved and admired his whole family as they did him. He was always eager to help whenever needed. He enjoyed being a granddad - he went by Poppa - and adored his grandchildren. He is survived by his son, Craig (Rita); granddaughter, Christa (Sean); great-grandchildren, Charlotte and Joanna; son, Ken (Nancy); grandson, Dane; granddaughter, Rivers (Ben); and great-grandchildren, Harper, Hestand, and Harris; daughter, Cindy (Ted); grandson, Trent; also his two dearly beloved siblings, Rebecca and Robert, and their extended families. Please let his memory live on within your hearts along with his two favorite sayings, "good show" and "nighty night," the perfect way to sign off.