NORMAN — William A. Appleby Jr. was born Dec. 10, 1921, in Norman to William A. Appleby Sr. and Mary Maire (Slajer) Appleby.
Services will be 2 p.m. today at the First Presbyterian Church in Altus.
He spent his summer vacations on his grandfather’s farm and later worked for his father, who was a building contractor.
Bill attended grade school and junior and senior high schools in Norman, graduating from high school in 1939. He then attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated in 1943 with a degree in architectural engineering.
Bill completed Reserve Officer Training Corps basic at the University of Oklahoma from 1939 to 1941. He then served in the United States Navy Reserve from December 1941 to March 1955 and was on active duty from May 1943 to September 1947. After attending midshipman school at the University of Notre Dame, he was commissioned an ensign in training bases at Little Creek, Va., Camp Bradford, Va., and Solomons, Md. After attending anti-aircraft training at Rhode Island, Bill shipped out on the Queen Elizabeth Roseneath in Scotland.
In January, Bill was assigned to the LCF No. 9, an anti-aircraft that the Navy received from Great Britain. He was stationed on the left flank of Omaha Beach for the Normandy invasion to protect the small boat lanes from strafing German aircraft. He returned to England and delivered the USS LCF No. 9 back to the British. Bill then received orders to return to the United States and continued training at Little Creek. He completed training in December 1944 and was assigned to the LSM No. 452M, a large Ocean Landing Ship, where he served as the gunnery and communications officer and later became an executive officer. After being ordered back to Guam, Bill became a commanding officer and was then ordered back to San Francisco for the eventual decommissioning of the ship.
Bill was married to Inis Ethlyn Gore in 1947 until her death in 1983. Together, they had two children, Mary Kathleen Appleby Doughty and Robert Keith Appleby. Bill married Mary Ann Logsdon in 1985.
Bill worked for the firm Collins and Flood, Architects and Engineers as an intern in 1947. The firm had offices in McAlester and Ardmore. He received a license to practice architecture in 1951 and opened his own architectural office in Altus in 1954. He retired in 1987.
Bill attended the first Oklahoma Boys State and was a member of the American Legion, Lions Club, Elks Club, Masonic Lodge and was a Shriner. He served on the board of governors for licensed architects for the state of Oklahoma for 15 years and was president of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1969. He served on the Altus Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for two terms and was a member of the Military Affairs Committee. In May 2012, Bill was honored to go to Washington, D.C., with the Honor Flight from southwest Oklahoma. He was a member of the Altus First Presbyterian Church for 58 years.
William Appleby Jr. was preceded in death by his mother and father; his sister, Loyce Evelyn Appleby Jansing; and his first wife, Inis Ethlyn Gore Appleby.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Appleby of Altus; daughter, Kathleen Appleby Doughty and her husband Lynn of Oklahoma City; and son, Robert Keith “Bob” Appleby and his wife Mary Ann of Dallas. He also is survived by sister, Doris Appleby Loeffelholz of Norman; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Also, the second family he gained from his wife, Mary Ann, her children Dorothy Litland, FR Ulysses D’Aquila, Catherine Magness and husband Greg, Jimmie Logsdon and Mary Lindsey and husband Steve, with eight grandchildren and three great-grandsons.
A visitation was Wednesday at Lowell-Tims Funeral Home.
Memorials can be made to the first Presbyterian Church, Western Oklahoma State College or to the charity of your choice.
Norman Transcript, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012
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