William John Voss

1934 - 2024

William John Voss was born to the late Donovan Rudolph Voss and Mary Thelma Hearn on November 13, 1934, in Pike County, Missouri. Affectionately, his mother and grandmother called him Billy John. In 1938, Billy John attended Excelsior School near Bowling Green, MO, for the first three years, which was a one room school house serving 1st through 8th grade (with no air conditioning, no heat, no lights, no indoor plumbing, as emphatically noted by "Papa"). In 1942, the family moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where Bill attended local schools.

Bill graduated from Centennial High School in 1952, and attended Pueblo Junior College graduating in 1954. He received his Bachelor of Science from Bob Jones University in 1956, majoring in Biology and Education. On June 1, 1957, at Park Hill Baptist Church in Pueblo, he married Helen Kae Murphy, who preceded him in death on December 24, 2004.

Continuing his education, Bill attended Southern Illinois University and the University of Hawaii studying Entomology. He received his Masters of Science in Biology from Texas Tech University. While pursuing his degree, Bill worked for the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu, and then taught high school in Lubbock. He researched various types of arthropods including insects, specifically fleas and arachnids (mites and ticks) with an emphasis on mites in reptiles. He followed in the footsteps of his beloved professor, Dr. Russell W. Stradtmann from Texas Tech, and was a few hours shy of his PhD in Entomology. Bill served for 40 years as the Curator of Science with the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, later becoming Curator Emeritus. Bill studied and kept various kinds of plants & animals all his life.

Serving as an Elder at Northwest Bible Church in Fort Worth, Bill assisted in a church plant located in west Fort Worth. He continued serving as Elder for 30 years at Redeemer Bible Church while teaching all ages of Bible Study, Sunday School, and Awanas. He enjoyed supporting, visiting, and hosting missionaries from all around the world and served on many missions committees.

While Bill lived in Missouri, Colorado, Maryland, South Carolina, Illinois, Hawaii, and Texas, he also traveled extensively. He visited almost every Canadian province, Mexican state, and US state except the Dakotas. Bill traveled worldwide visiting Japan, China, Taiwan, Macao, the Philippines, New Zealand, Antarctica, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, France, and Israel. He received the US Service Medal for serving in the Antarctic.

Rewarding activities for Bill were digging up dinosaurs, making Thanksgiving dinner out of buffalo meat, and hosting the Russian Astronauts and Neil Armstrong during the Soviet Space Exhibition. He enjoyed serving as the Naturalist for the annual 8th Grade Big Bend Trip with Fort Worth Country Day School for over 32 yrs, heading and directing the Science Club at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History for over 40 years, as well as leading numerous collecting field trips to build the natural science collection for the Museum.

William John Voss passed away in his home on November 13, 2024, with his family near. He is survived by his brother Gordon L Voss and his wife Judy, his son Cary Russell William Voss and his wife Kimberly, daughter Mary Katheryn Barbur and her husband John, daughter Keely Sue Kisor, eight grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. He celebrated his 90th birthday at Redeemer Bible Church with family and friends just days before his passing.

His place of interment will be at the Vandalia Cemetery in Missouri alongside his high school sweetheart and wife of 47 years. He will be forever revered as Billy John, William John, Bill, Uncle Bill, Dr. Voss, "Bill Voss the Science Boss," Papa, and Papa Bill, among other monikers.

A memorial service will be held on January 4, 2025, 11:00 a.m. CST, at Redeemer Bible Church, 100 Verna Trail N, White Settlement, Texas, 76108.