William R. “Bill” Briscoe, civil engineer, musician, motorcyclist and a total “Rube Goldberg”, passed away June 17, 2019 at the age of 82, after a heart attack on Father's Day morning. His family was by his side until he went to be with Jesus the next day.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Bill's family moved to Tucson, Arizona because of his asthma when he was 9 years old. He played in the Tucson Boy's Band as a youngster, and in high school he played baritone in the marching band, trombone in the swing band and ran track at Tucson High. He attended the University of Arizona on music scholarship, studying civil engineering and marching in the band under Jack Lee. Bear Down!
Sweethearts since junior high, Pat & Bill married in 1959 in Tucson. After Bill graduated from the University of Arizona, he was hired by the Arizona Department of Transportation (then the Arizona Highway Department), and the couple moved to Phoenix making their home in what was then northwest Phoenix. Bill and Pat had three children, Leah Carson (Mike), Blake Briscoe (Rayme) and Kara Liethen (Tony); and six grandchildren, Mallory Cooper (Dalton), Ethan Briscoe, Quinnton Briscoe, Laura Liethen, Chance Liethen and Hayden Liethen. They raised their family and lived in that first home for 48 years before moving to Sun City. Bill was diagnosed with dementia in 2013, and passed just two months before their 60th anniversary.
Bill's first project as a civil engineer was to extend the new I-17 from Northern Avenue to Bell Road. Over his career, he also extended Carefree Highway from Lake Pleasant to Morristown, I-10 from downtown Phoenix west to Buckeye and built numerous major roads, freeways and bridges throughout Maricopa County for the State. He was a Resident Engineer, Senior Resident Engineer and Area Engineer for District 1 (Maricopa County), and spent the last 10 years of his career as the Manager of Utilities & Railroads Division for the entire State of Arizona.
Bill had many interests, and as his kids were growing up, he coached their baseball, softball and football teams and helped with soccer. He played volleyball and tennis himself regularly for years. An avid motorcyclist, Bill volunteered as a Sweep Rider Official with Arizona Desert Racing Association (ADRA) for 15 years, riding throughout Arizona and the Point to Point Race in Rocky Point. He played in the Salvation Army Rubber Band, Show Time Band, Prosit German Band, Shrine Band and 30 years with the Glendale Summer Band. Bill put his civil engineering skills to good use with Pat's designs terracing their back yard in three levels, creating a waterfall into their pool, lots of brickwork and building furniture. Always dependable, he served as a Trustee at Phoenix Central Christian Church for 20 years, and drove the church bus for decades at Phoenix Central Christian Church, First Christian Church and Desert Christian Fellowship. He was also Treasurer for the Quality Hill Resort Board in Pinetop. Pat and Bill spent 25 years vacationing at Quality Hill and for 20 years, they spent 3 to 5 weeks in Hawaii each winter on The Big Island and Maui. They also were fortunate to have spent 7 weeks in England and France right after Bill retired.
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