William "Bill" Mesplay's Obituary
William (Bill) L. Mesplay, age 88, of Brentwood passed away Tuesday April 29, 2025. He was born December 21, 1936 in Nevada, Missouri to James and Dorothy Mesplay. Bill joined the United States Navy at 17 years old and served for 20 years, including a tour in Vietnam, before retiring as a Senior Chief Petty Officer and Master Diver. He joined an elite group of U.S. Navy divers in the early days of saturation diving and was proud of his achievements, notably serving as master diver on a world record open sea dive of 1010 feet. Bill made many lifelong bonds with other great men in this field and enjoyed attending Master Diver and Sealab reunions. Later in life, Bill’s happy place was on the Appalachian Trail (preferably with his grandson, David) or hiking the peaks of the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland enjoying his wife’s homeland. He was preceded in death by his son, Jim Mesplay.
He is survived by his Irish wife of 62 years, Maureen Mesplay; one son, Billy Mesplay and his wife Cynthia of Atlanta, Georgia; one daughter, Shelma Walch and her husband John of Fayetteville; two sisters, Dorothy Armstrong of Washington and Charmion Fanning of Missouri; three brothers, Ronnie Mesplay of Florida, James Mesple of Illinois and Preston Gaines of Missouri; three grandchildren, David Mesplay and his wife Amy, Tessa Franklin and her husband Tanner, Taea Wooten and her husband Wes; seven great grandchildren, Zoey, Beau, Averie, Hensley, Waylon, Ayla and Emmi.
Memorial graveside service will be 11:00 am Saturday June 7, 2025 at Baptist Ford Cemetery in Greenland, Arkansas under the direction of Moore’s Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Circle of Life, 901 Jones Road, Springdale, Arkansas 72762.
To place an online tribute, please visit www.bernafuneralhomes.com
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