William (Bill) Charles Brodbeck was born 17 Jan 1921 in Albuquerque. He was preceded in death by parents, John Jacob and Sixta (Valenzuela) Brodbeck and siblings, John and Fred Brodbeck and Elizabeth Spawr. Bill grew up in So. CA and earned an AA degree from Compton Jr College. During WWII, he became a 1st Lt. in the Army Air Corp and flew P-47 fighters. He served in Germany during its occupation. In 1950, he married his wartime sweetheart, Mary Ellen Hancock of Lincoln Park, MI. They moved to Buttonwillow, CA, where he co-owned the Buttonwillow Dusters. Upon leaving the crop dusting business, Bill went into aircraft sales and racing. In 1966, he set a world speed record in the Commander 200 and earned the Louis Bleriot Award for this feat. Bill sold Aero Commander planes and Ayres Turbo Thrushes out of Albany, GA and OKC for many years. In 1985, he flew the Turbo Thrush to set 3 world time to climb records which stand today. After his retirement in 1991, Bill enjoyed travel, yard and home projects, and attending OU football games. Bill learned to scuba dive and amassed 100+ open water dives. Bill is survived by Mary Ellen, his wife of 64 years; his brother, James of CA; daughter, Robin Raney of GA; daughter, Nancy and husband, Gary Huang of CA; son, Robert Brodbeck and wife, Katy of OKC; grandsons, Blake Raney, Jason Huang, and Jackson Brodbeck; nieces and nephews. Bill will be deeply missed by all. Visitation will be held 14 Apr 2014 6-8pm at Mercer-Adams Funeral Service. Services will be Tue 15 Apr 2014 2pm at Grace United Methodist OKC. Memorials to Am. Diabetes Assoc. Funeral Service Tuesday, April 15, 2014 02:00 PM Grace United Methodist Church 6316 N. Tulsa Avenue Oklahoma City, OK