William Claude Oliver

Bill was born July 29, 1931, at home in Otway, Ohio, to the late Oscar Christley Oliver and Vicia Jane Copley Oliver. He grew up as the middle child on a farm with 11 siblings. The boys tended the crops and took care of the animals while the girls helped their mother in the home. All the children were born in their family home.

On April 18, 1959, he was united in marriage to Joyce Mae DeMoss, who became his wife of 65 years. Where one was, the other one was also. They raised their children together and worked outside the home together in the oil service business they built. It is an understatement to say they were inseparable.

After graduating from Mt. Orab High School in Ohio, Bill was introduced to Joyce DeMoss through a mutual friend on a blind double date at the Red Bluff Drive-in in South Houston. Bill and Joyce dated for approximately six weeks when Bill asked Joyce to marry him. Bill was on leave from a work assignment in Tripoli, Libya (North Africa), and was to report back to work. It was love at first sight for Bill! She walked around a corner with her big, dimpled smile and said, “Well, Hi!” And that was it for him….He thought Joyce was exactly what he was looking for in a wife, and he knew if he waited to ask her to marry him at a later date, she would not be available! Bill and Joyce were married at the Justice of the Peace’s house and left for a short trip to Ohio and then on to their grand adventures overseas that lasted for the next eight years until they returned to Houston, Texas.

During their time in Libya, Bill and Joyce traveled to Paris, Naples, London, Malta, Frankfurt, Benghazi, Tunis and more. They took several transatlantic voyages from New York to Naples, Italy. On one occasion, they took their 1965 White Chevy Corvair with them on The Queen Elizabeth. In addition, they hired a French tutor for Bill and an Italian tutor for Joyce before they took off on a tour through Europe.

Bill and Joyce were expert bowlers who were part of a couple’s bowling league. They enjoyed dancing the jitterbug and twist as well as having house parties and attending business events with their work friends who became like family. The time they had overseas was among the best memories that carried them their whole life through as these friends became family who keep in touch to this day.

Bill and Joyce were self-employed in the oil field service industry where they worked side-by-side until their retirement. Bill served as the President and Joyce served as the Executive Vice President for their company that had 280 employees. Joyce thought Bill could do anything, and she would follow him anywhere. Together, they made an amazing team of leaders.

Surviving Bill are his children: Susan Brenz of Cypress, Texas, and Michael Oliver and wife Michelle Oliver of Cypress, Texas; four grandchildren: Dr. Samantha Palmer of Troy, Alabama, Brittany Conley of Cypress, Texas, Justin Oliver of Boston, Massachusetts, and Stephen Hudson of Cypress, Texas. In addition, he has five great grandchildren: Eliana and Oliver Higginbotham of Cypress, Texas and James, Gray and Mackenzie Palmer of Troy, Alabama. Surviving are his brothers: Archie, Walter, and Charles of Ohio and Georgia.

William was preceded in death by his wife Joyce Mae DeMoss Oliver on January 23, 2024. In addition to his late parents, William was preceded in death by his sisters: Bernie, Betty, Annie, Beula and Laura as well as his brothers: Howard, Harry, and Robert. William has 44 nieces and nephews, along with grand nieces and nephews living in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and Texas.

A memorial service will be held at Brookside Funeral Home – Champions at 3410 Cypress Creek Parkway in Houston, Texas 77068, on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 3pm. The family will receive friends from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, September 28, 2024, preceding the memorial service. A private burial with immediate family will follow at Houston National Cemetery at 10410 Veterans Memorial Drive in Houston, Texas, on Monday, September 30, 2024.

As a young boy raised on a farm, William and his family were never in need of food. His late wife was an advocate for ensuring that all children have something to eat, so he would be pleased to back her in any endeavor she was passionate about doing. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations be made in William Oliver’s name to the following:

CFISD Food Production Center at 11355 Perry Road in Houston, Texas 77064

Attn: Suzy Hunter, Angel Account Administrator

Both William and Joyce Oliver have left behind a legacy of love and service to others that will be exemplified in their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren for generations to come.