William D. Yehle

Mr. Yehle was born September 20 1931 in Cleveland Ohio and died at home, surrounded by family, in La Luz, NM, November 1, 2007

He was the son of John C, (deceased1986) and Elsie E. (Nelson) Yehle of Cleveland, OH. He was the loving husband of Lisa of La Luz, NM; devoted father and grandfather of John (deceased1972) and Jody Yehle, Jamie and Josef Garrett of Denver, CO; exceptional brother to Bob and Cris Yehle of Barberton, OH and wacky uncle to Michael, Eric and Bill.

Bill served in the US Naval Reserves, 1950-51 and in the US Army 82nd Airborne 1951-54 as a Staff Sgt. and Jump Instructor, Ft. Benning, GA.

He held a BA in Anthropology and an MA in Public History from Boise State University and did post graduate work at the University of Idaho and Arizona State. In his years as a Field Archaeologist and Cultural Resource Manager, he surveyed more than 150,000 acres and recorded 71,000 sites in the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau. Bill retired in 1997 from the BLM where he served as Resource Area Archaeologist, Klamath Falls, OR. He went on to serve at White Sands Missile Range as Senior Archaeologist where he received the Commander's Award for Civilian Service and re-retired in March 2004.

Bill was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International and was active in Disabled American Veterans and the Democratic Party. He was a teacher, mentor, storyteller, dreamer, hard working entrepreneur and "warrior," as noted by the Klamath Tribe.

A service commemorating his life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 4, 2:00 pm in the Unitarian Fellowship, 1010 16th St, Alamogordo, NM.

Donations may be made in his memory to the Literacy Project at White Sands Rotary Club, PO Box 2244, Alamogordo, NM 88311.

Direct Cremation will take place under the care of PCS Direct Cremation Services.