William Swope Slease

William “Bill” Swope Slease peacefully took God’s hand and went from this life to everlasting life on March 14, 2015. Born in Wichita, Kansas on March 26, 1941, to Adalyn and Merle Slease, he attended Wichita East High School, University of Oklahoma, and Wichita State University. He proudly served his country as an officer in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. After receiving an MBA from the University of Oregon, Bill began his career with Morgan Guaranty Trust on New York’s Wall Street, and in 1970, moved to Dallas as a mortgage banker. Entrepreneurial by nature and following in his dad’s footsteps, he formed his own real estate brokerage company in 1984 and later, his own homebuilding company, Tapestry Custom Homes. An active member of the Dallas Builders Association, both as a Board officer and teacher, Bill was recognized as a Honored Life Director for his many years of service. For several years, he represented Dallas on the Texas Association of Home Builders Board. In 2007, he was selected by the National Association of Home Builders as CAPS Builder-of-the-Year.

Although his worldly accomplishments were many, his greatest passion was people. A loyal and trustworthy friend, he was always available with a helping hand, a strong shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. An active member of Northwest Bible Church for over 35 years, his vision was the seed for many discipleship groups at the church such as Navigators 2:7, Crown, many community groups and Sunday School classes. Most recently, he served as Treasurer to Apostrophe Mission Foundation, an outreach to China.

He leaves a living legacy of faith as the spiritual leader of his family. He is survived by his wife, Judy, his children, Betsy Muncey of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Brad (Kim) Slease of Benicia, California, Jeff (Kim) Mulkey and Christy (Chris) Cowan of Flower Mound, Texas. He is also survived by his sister Lynne (Steve) Ryan of Salina, Kansas, his nephew Scott (DeDee) Ryan of Salina, Kansas, niece Carrie (John) Wilson, Shawnee, Kansas, sister-in-law Susan (Don) Pine, niece Stacy (Tone) Macia, and nephew Chris (Leslie) Pine, all of Houston, Texas. He is also the proud “SOPA” to 12 grandchildren.

A memorial celebration will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2015, at Northwest Bible Church in the Main Sanctuary with a reception to follow. A private interment will take place at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, because of Bill’s passion for missions, memorial gifts may be made to the Missions Fund of Northwest Bible Church, 8505 Douglas Ave, Dallas, TX, 75225 or to Apostrophe Mission Foundation, P. O. Box 180268, Dallas, TX 75218.