William Emil Staudt, Sr., was born June 25, 1941, in Kerrville, Texas. He passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 3, 2012.

He attended Notre Dame Catholic School and graduated from Tivy High School.

Known by his family and friends as Bill, he served the community for many years as a Kendall County Sheriff's Deputy, and later he owned and operated Associated Bonding until he retired after major bypass surgery.

He enjoyed history and had many hobbies over the years, from bow hunting and musket rifles to clock repair and fishing. He was a master trader of any item, whether a painting or a gun. During his years in the bonding business, if you heard the words "I took it to the office," that was a sure sign that the item in question had been traded and would never be seen again.

Bill entertained his grandchildren with outlandish stories about being shot in the Korean War (he wasn't) and playing football for Notre Dame (he didn't-at least not Notre Dame University). The grandkids celebrated this passion for exaggeration on his seventieth birthday by printing up shirts with all their favorite "Papa-isms."

Bill and his wife Helen would have celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in July. With Helen, Bill raised and is survived by six children: Shelley Casey and husband Cory, Robert Jones and wife Jessica, Terri Garza and husband David, Tracy Forney and husband David, Billy Staudt and wife Kelly and Annette Jones. They also had 13 grandchildren: Joshua and wife Jennifer, Dustin, Amanda, Shanda and husband Philip, Hannah and husband Chance, BriAnna, Brendan, Matthew, Logan, Gavin, Avery, Addison and Grayson; and three great-grandchildren. Bill also leaves behind sister Emily Behrens and brother-in-law Danny; nieces Jenny Behrens and Andrea Raz and her husband Johnny, and nephew Will and his wife Jennifer; as well as two great-nieces and a great-nephew. He is preceded in death by his parents, Dick and Elizabeth Staudt and his brother Sidney Staudt.

While Bill was mostly a homebody, he and Helen liked to visit war sites, old family homesteads, cemeteries and estate sales. They also liked to visit daughter Tracy and her family in Virginia. Together they liked to make trips to casinos, and Bill frequently won, whether on slot machines or even with scratch-offs at home. The holidays and birthdays were always celebrated at "The Home," and Bill started trying to run everyone off the minute they arrived. "When are y'all goin' home?" he'd always ask, prompting arguments and laughs. Truthfully he wouldn't have had it any other way than to be surrounded by his family, even though the majority of the time he ended up asleep in his recliner in front of the television. His love for his family was never more evident than on the very sad day of his passing, when the entire family (and many many friends) converged on the house to help remember his life.

Services for Bill will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Schaetter’s Funeral Home in Comfort, Texas.

Visitation for Bill Staudt will be held on Monday February 6th from 5 to 7:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Schaetter Funeral Home of Comfort.