William Righton Harral Jr.

William Righton Harral, Jr., 90, of Midland, passed away on August 2, 2015. Mr. Harral was born in Ft. Stockton, Texas on November 10, 1924. He graduated from Ft. Stockton High School and then joined the Army Air Corp at 19 years of age. He fought in World War II, flying C47’s, stationed in Guam and the Philippines.

After the war, Mr. Harral continued to serve in the Army Air Force Reserves advancing to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He then graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Civil Engineering. He was employed by the Texas Highway Department as a civil engineer for 30 years. After finding retirement “boring”, he became the consulting engineer for Midland County for the next 18 years. Mr. Harral’s father, William R. Harral Sr., was a rancher in Pecos County until his death in 1952; then Bill and his brother, Fred S. Harral, continued raising cattle, sheep, and horses on the family ranch until the 1970s.

Mr. Harral married Ladye Ann Petsch on June 12, 1948 and remained married until her death on March 24, 2014. Bill and Ladye Ann loved traveling the western part of the United States by motorcycle or in his private airplane. Bill also loved electronics and computers and was a Licensed Amateur Radio Operator for over 40 years. He was known as “Wild Bill” to all his friends and always introduced himself as such. Mr. Harral had a great sense of humor. He was a loving husband and father and will be greatly missed.