William Calvin Oaks

I, William Calvin Oaks, passed from this life into life everlasting on April 14, 2026. I was born on May 23, 1930, to Rena Marie Wall Oaks and Merle Edgar Oaks on the farm west of Adair, Iowa. Life wasn't always easy-growing up during the Depression had its struggles-but Dad left the farm and moved to town to become a mechanic, first working on cars, then tractors and farming implements. I finished grade school and high school in 1948. Though small in size, I lettered in football and baseball.

Work: I started at Burr Hardware, then moved to International Harvester Company in Des Moines. I served four years in the U.S. Navy, then returned to International Harvester in Billings, Montana. After three years at Boeing in Seattle, I returned to Billings with International until being transferred to Albuquerque in 1972. When International Harvester sold all its branches in 1981, I finished my career at Rust Tractor in 1993. All my work was in the motor truck divisions.

Family and Marriages: I married Shirley D. Nunley from Big Timber, Montana, in 1952. We had one child, Gregory Calvin Oaks. Sadly, Shirley developed cancer after we moved to Albuquerque and died in early 1975. After burying Shirley in Livingston, Montana, I returned to work at International Harvester.

Later, I reconnected with Sammie Lee. I had known her as a girl in Adair, and she was now working at Presbyterian Hospital as an Occupational Therapist. Sammie was a born-again Christian, and after many trials, she gave her life to Jesus. I, guided by her example and support, accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior-my very best decision. We married at First Presbyterian in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and started our life together in Albuquerque. Her son, Samuel came to live with us and graduated from Sandia High School, then New Mexico State University.

Sammie and I attended several churches looking for a Bible-teaching congregation and found it at Calvary Chapel, where Skip faithfully taught and preached God's Word. We also joined the local Porsche Club and met wonderful friends. We bought our pride and joy, a 1964 356C from a doctor in Roswell, and as the second owners, we traveled all over the West. Fun, fun car! Friends like Joe, Bob, Gary, and David, and many more made the experience even richer.

At the same time, we became volunteers at El Rancho de Las Golondrinas Living History Museum south of Santa Fe. Sammie worked in fiber arts-wool dyeing, carding, spinning, and colcha embroidery-while I learned willow basket making. I found it rewarding and made many baskets that are still in use. Sammie passed away in 2012 of pulmonary fibrosis. After her funeral in Albuquerque, her ashes were placed in the wall at Santa Fe National Cemetery, where my own will also be placed.

Final Thoughts: Thank you to all my dear, dear friends. It's been a good trip! Love, Bill

Bill is survived by his brother Bob and his wife Dorothy, and their daughters and grandson of Adair, Iowa; his sister Betty and her husband Barry Steel of England; his son Greg from Billings, Montana; his stepson Sam Kyllingstad and his wife Patricia of San Antonio, TX; his grandchildren Samuel and Jennifer Kyllingstad of Edmond, OK; Gabriela and Gerardo Valdivia, Daniela and Michael Saucedo, and Joshua and Victoria Kyllingstad, all of San Antonio, TX; and his many great grandchildren, Emilee, Gerardo, Eli, Fenix, Giana, and Kate.