William Stanley Seitel

William (Bill) Stanley Seitel was born May 15, 1949 in Florence, AZ and passed away October 6, 2026 in Tucson, AZ. A devoted husband, he was happily married to his beloved wife, Sonja Seitel, for 51 blissful years. He was a very dedicated, hands-on father to his sons Matthew Seitel and Jonathan Seitel (wife Jacqueline) and their son Bruno A. Seitel. His sons greatly admired and thought the world of him. Bill’s parents, Willard and Lurene Seitel, moved shortly after Bill’s birth to Chino, CA where he and his brothers Steve Seitel and Fred Seitel grew up.

A dependable, private, protective, resourceful, calm, courageous, humble and loving man, Bill fully committed himself to every project he tackled. He put on many caps over the years, from Fireman (for both the Forestry Service and Goldstone Tracking Station) to Designing and Building Medical Equipment to Aerospace Electrical Engineering. He enjoyed woodworking, welding, hiking, plants, and camping - especially in his VW Pop-Top van. He always had the right tool to fix anything and everything. Music was another passion and he collected albums from eclectic artists such as Nanci Griffith.

Bill and Sonja accomplished a lifetime dream to design and build their own home on 5 wooded acres in Monroe, WA. He had many interests in motion at any given time and loved to tinker and plan things out with precision. His approach to most anything was: “measure twice, cut once”. A successful project was always a source of pride and accomplishment. He had a great dry sense of humor and was one of the few that liked fruitcake!

Faced with many challenges in life, his intelligence and humility were always on full display. One such experience was serving in combat as an Army artillery gunner in the Vietnam War. He was a member of an M109 turreted self-propelled howitzer team and went into Cambodia in May 1970 to break up the Ho Chi Minh Trail Communist supply route. The Cambodians hid in fear when Bill and the troops entered the area. When the troops completed their mission, the Cambodians lined the road and threw flowers to honor them.

Bill will be greatly missed by family and friends. All who knew him are comforted to know he is at peace.