Visitation will be held on Friday, July 20th from 4p - 8p at Memorial Baptist Church, located at 1634 Paris Road Columbia, MO 65201. A service will be held at 10am the following morning, July 21st, at the same location. After the service, the family will be taking Bill to Hazelwood Cemetery, 1642 E Seminole St, Springfield, MO 65804, to be laid to rest next to his parents.
Bill was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on Feb 16, 1962, to Harold Sparkes and Dorothy Sparkes (Cooper).
Bill lived in Oklahoma and Texas before moving to Stavanger, Norway with his parents. There, Bill graduated from the Stavanger American School in 1980. Bill moved back to the States where he met the love of his life, Christine Chiles. They were married in 1984 and started their family a couple years later. Bill worked as a manager for IBM. In his free time, he could be found dominating the volleyball courts or volunteering at the Show-Me-Games. Bill was an active member at Memorial Baptist and served as a deacon as well as the program coordinator for Upward Basketball. Bill never met a stranger and was always willing to lend a helping hand beyond what was expected.
Bill is survived by his wife of almost 34 years, Christine Sparkes; his three daughters, Meghan Rawson (Levi Rawson), Melody Grayson (Stephen Grayson), and Molly Sparkes; three grandchildren, Wakely Rawson, Eliza Rawson, and Callen Rawson; his sister Debbie Pridgeon (Bryan Pridgeon) and brother Michael Sparkes (Kathy Sparkes); a number of nieces and nephews, and all the lives he has touched.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that donations be sent to Memorial Baptist Church of Columbia, MO.
