William (Bill) Tafoya's Obituary
Released from the ugliness of dementia, Bill’s body and soul are at peace. Born in 1951 to Celia and Juan Tafoya, Bill was a surprise gift to his devout Catholic parents. Growing up in the small town of Antonito CO, Bill was part of a large family of siblings, aunts, uncles and so many cousins he had a hard time keeping their names straight.
Bill attended Adams State College in Alamosa CO, but after learning he had a low draft number he decided to join the Air Force and see the world. Bill’s first duty station was CCK Air Base, Taiwan, where he had several TDYs to Vietnam. He was later stationed in Okinawa, the Philippines and McChord AFB. At McChord, he married his beloved wife of 31 years, Marla. Together they were stationed in England, and finally Kirtland AFB, where Bill retired. Bill served 24 years in the United States Air Force and he loved almost every minute of it. After his retirement, Bill worked 16 years as a Flight Engineer Instructor at the McChord AFB C-130 simulator. This was a dream job for him and when he had to take a medical retirement due to dementia, he did it with dignity and grace.
Bill was always quick with a smile; he was smart, loyal, and had a quirky sense of humor. From all the years of flying, he had a particular interest in the weather. When dementia hit him the hardest, every morning his first question was about the temperature or he wanted to know if it was raining. When he got up in the morning, he would step out the front door to see how cold or warm it was.
Bill loved golf, books, war movies, donuts, wearing socks with sandals, a good beer, his BFF Ron Stiles, a Starbucks grande dark drip with light cream, bischocittos made with lard, mowing the lawn, shirts tucked in, singing along to old country music, Costco mixed nuts, NCI reruns, gadgets, telling ‘war’ stories and his family.
For those who knew Bill, he was a gift that was once in a lifetime.
Bill is survived by his wife, Marla; brother Bennie Tafoya, sister Vangie Mondragon, his Mother-in-Law Pat Klein, brothers-in-law Chuck (Jackie) Klein, Tim (Stephanie) Klein, nieces, nephews, and of course, all those cousins…
Services will be held Monday, January 29, 2018 at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in Spanaway: 10:30am Rosary, 11:00am Mass. Interment Ashes at Tahoma National Cemetery in Covington at 1:30pm. Reception to follow.
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