William “Bill” Newby Reavis, 79, of Overland Park, KS, passed away on Monday, Apri15th, 2019. A private gathering of friends and family will be held in his memory. He was born August 25th, 1939, in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was the second born son of Melvin Lewis Reavis and Mary Louise Newby. Bill was born in Colorado, later, the family moved to Wyandotte, then Mission, Kansas.

In 1957, Bill graduated from Shawnee Mission High School (currently known as SM North HS), the last year it was known as SMHS. This same year, Bill was awarded an apprenticeship at the Ulm School of Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm) in Ulm, Germany, he was there for one year. When he returned he enrolled in the Art Department at The University of Kansas, beginning Fall of 1959. He enlisted in the Army after a few years at KU, going to Ft. Devon where he became an Intercept Operator in the Army Security Agency. He served with the Army Security Agency in Turkey, outside of Ankara, where he was reading and analyzing the intercepts the ASA was collecting, active service February 1962 – June 1964, continuing in Army Reserves though January 1968.

In January 1966, Bill received a “European Out” from the Army. He then traveled through Europe for 6 months with his friends Ted and Ben, and his brother Warren, visiting museums, cathedrals, palaces, and various bars, seeing the best of both. They all met in Istanbul after Bill wrote and asked Warren and Ted to come travel, Ben was in the Army with Bill, they first toured Turkey together. After Turkey, Warren went home for business, then the remaining 3 sailed to Greece, visiting the islands, then traveled on to Italy, seeing Rome, Florence and all the places on the way. In Rome they bought used Vespa scooters and rode them to Florence, Northern Italy, and then to the French Rivera, seeing the Grand Prix of Monaco. They traveled on to Spain, visiting Barcelona and Madrid. Ted needed to return back to the states at this point, Bill and Ben continued to France, England, and Holland before heading home to the states. At some point, Bill settled down to live in Germany for a bit and completed a silversmith apprenticeship at WFM.  After returning to the US, he returned to school at The University of Kansas, where he received his Bachelor’s in Industrial Design, graduating in 1968. Bill married Kathleen Butterfield in 1968, moved to Shawnee, KS, they had a daughter, later divorcing in 1987.

Bill partnered in Reavis Products, a family owned hand-truck (Dollies) business established in 1946 and incorporated in Kansas. Though the company is no longer running, the Reavis Products hand-trucks can still be found in use, to date. The company was begun by his father, Melvin, Bill later sold his interests to his brother, Warren. Bill started a whole-sale tire and chain company. He later sold his interests in this company and began work with an industrial wheel import company with production facilities in Southeast Asia, mainly Taiwan. He managed and subsequently developed the local assembly production facility for the same company. Bill has shared many stories of his travels to Taiwan and China.

Bill fully retired in 2007. He decided to work part time at the local hardware store. Over his lifetime, Bill designed and created a bicycle tire pump and held a patent for the design. He was a bicycle enthusiast, he designed a website for other FUJI bicycle enthusiasts like himself, researching and gathering the history and information on the bicycle, he later gave the site to another enthusiast to own/run. Most recently, Bill volunteered countless hours working for the homes association where he lived, taking measures and working behind the scenes to ensure accurate and detailed information for the betterment of the community/owners and served on the Board of Directors for 5.5 years, after retiring from the BOD, 2 years later, he was requested to be on the BOD and appointed back to the BOD. Bill served as Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, and President. Bill was instrumental in the development of rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines that are currently in place. Bill encourages involvement, actively learning about the place one lives, and offering ideas and suggestion for the improvement of one’s community.

Bill travelled extensively throughout his lifetime on his own and with his partner, Carol. He spent 2 months in Europe, Africa, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Greece, and Turkey, Carol joined him on this adventure once she left the Peace Corps. Throughout Bill’s life, he enjoyed traveling across the continental United States and Hawaii, visiting many destinations in the US, Canada, Mexico and the world. During his stays he chose to stay in hostels or camping, sometimes a hotel. He really enjoyed the true experiences of different people, cultures, and environments.

Bill was truly an avid traveler and encouraged everyone to travel and to learn. Bill very much enjoyed planning his trips and researching areas to visit. He held a rich wisdom and thoroughly enjoyed his experiences by staying ever-present. He had a pleasant disposition, a soft-spoken demeanor, detailed thought process, a ton of common sense, and an excellent sense of humor. He had lots of great real-life stories speaking of his adventures and comical life happenings. He spoke of the people he met and the richness they brought to his life. He taught his life lessons to others, or he let you learn them on your own, if you were stubborn. Bill never complained of his health and never wanted to be identified by his health. He was a valued asset to his community, friends, and family.

Bill had been a resident of the area since moving from Lawrence, KS, in the late 1960s, after graduating. Preceded in death by his parents, Melvin and Mary Reavis (of Lawrence, KS), and his brothers Warren (of Overland Park, KS) and David (Dave) Reavis (of Lawrence, KS). His legacy includes his daughter, Trisa Hosford (husband Todd), two grandchildren, Teagan and Tabitha, his long-time partner, Carol Heil, and his three nephews, Jordan and Matthew, and Joel, all local to the area.

"Do we really live upside down on the most compact surface of the atmosphere

- dangling just under the surface?" – WNR, 1/11/1991

"Mourn enough to recognize that a part of your life is not available any more, 

that all you've learned about life is becoming real, that life keeps going

forward; and then get on with it. It isn't going to wait for you." – WNR, 2/23/1991

"...make the most of the unknown as it becomes known." – WNR, 08/20/1989