William Charles Hozie William “Bill” Hozie was born an only child on June 4, 1940, to Eunice and Fred Hozie in California, and passed away Feb. 15, 2022. He graduated from Reseda High School in 1958, and earned his BA at Valley State College in Northridge, Calif. In 1963, Bill attended officer training school at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and at age 23 married the love of his life, Bonnie Wyatt, 20, in Canoga Park, Calif. Bill was then transferred to Laredo Air Force Base, Texas, where he began pilot training. Bill and Bonnie’s marriage ended tragically on April 8, 1966, when Bonnie and both of Bill’s parents were killed in a head-on car crash in Kern County, Calif. Bill suffered a broken neck, but survived. He went on to earn an M.A. in anthropology at San Francisco State, and later completed all but the dissertation portion for his PhD at the University of Colorado. While teaching at the University of Virginia in 1975, he married Clelia Nichols, a union that lasted 17 years. They restored an historic home there once used by Stonewall Jackson, and Bill became an avid Civil War buff. In the 1990s, Bill moved to Holbrook, where he was on the faculty at both Northland Pioneer College and Diné College of the Navajo Nation, focusing on ancient Native Americans. Bill suffered a stroke in 2021. Following recovery, he resumed activities with enthusiasm, but less than a year later he was hospitalized with COVID, which led to renal failure. Among Bill’s many friends, special thanks are due to Cheryl Mitchell and Randy Murph of Holbrook, who made sure his needs were met after his stroke, and his friend Carly Penrod Murray of Winslow, who was always there for him. Bill was also “adopted” as a special friend to the Route 66 Co-Op, a non-profit group rehabilitating the landmark Painted Desert Trading Post east of Holbrook. Bill had been a longtime guardian of the old post, and he stopped by regularly to monitor progress as the rescue effort took place. Bill Hozie’s wit, knowledge, wisdom, and friendship will be greatly missed by all who had the honor of knowing him.
