William D. Krompel
PRICE -On October 2, 2020, our loving husband, father and grandfather, William D. (aka: Bill or Billy ) Krompel went on his best hike ever and was at last freed from the lengthy illness that held him shackled for some years.
Billy came rushing into the world with a very vocal “Trick or Treat !” Barely making the Halloween deadline at 11:29 PM, October 31, 1949. He was the first born of Bill and Leah Olsen Krompel. Following there would be five more siblings: Ricky, Randy, Kerry, Ronnie and Sherry.
In his younger years, Billy enjoyed playing Wellington baseball up through high school as well as basketball. He remembered those years with great delight and had many stories to tell about his fun times with his fellow teammates and coaches. But, as many of you know, Billy was a serious and studious person and when he was at home, he would lock himself in a quiet room he could find away from all of the commotion of five younger siblings and get his homework finished then study, study, study. He was always researching and studying.... both of which turned out to be handy skills to have when he later became a teacher and a county commissioner.
To balance all that bookwork, Billy would enjoy fishing, hiking, backpacking and camping, music, weightlifting, jogging, gardening and karate. In fact, Billy met his wife to be because of karate. He was teaching a karate night class at the College of Eastern Utah and Joni, being a single teacher new to the area, signed up for the class to gain some self-defense skills. They discovered that they had other things in common as they were both avid hikers and backpackers and both enjoyed being teachers of mathematics. In 1981 Billy Krompel from Price, Utah married Joni Fitts, “the new girl”, from Roswell, New Mexico. They were married in the house they were building, and the house became a home as they welcomed their three children one by one.... Kristopher, Rachael and Nicholas. Together they had many fun adventures and over the years they welcomed other creatures to the fold; a dog, a few hamsters, a few cats, a bird, a raccoon, a skunk, little Louie the prairie dog, any horse that his daughter could sneak home and even a badger to boot!!
Billy’s education included a bachelor’s degree from USU in mathematics with a chemistry minor and a strong physics background. He graduated as Salutatorian of his class. During many summers moving forward, he continued his education with many graduate classes and conferences at BYU and the U of U. He delved deeply into the studies of mathematics, computer science and energy production and environmental concerns.
Billy taught mathematics, physics and chemistry for 33 years in various schools including East Carbon High, Jordan School District High School, College of Eastern Utah, Mont Harmon Junior High and Carbon High School. He was well liked by his students. They would often kid him about his many quotes he came up with when teaching formulas such as “the formula is as handy as a pocket on a vest! “One year, one of his classes even presented him with a vest on which the students had stitched many colorful pockets. He was also famously known for showing his classes the yoga pose known as the scorpion!
Billy was especially interested in energy production and environmental concerns and spent some time as an environmental engineer for Utah Power. He missed teaching, however, and went back to teaching. He also felt that he could better serve Carbon County by running for Carbon County Commissioner. He won his bid and began his service as commissioner.... A service which continued for six full terms of 24 years. He carefully researched and studied before making any decisions. He realized that “you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can never please all the people all the time”. He did try his darndest, however, to meet with all people involved in a particular situation to arrive at a best solution to the problem. He was the commissioner over the carbon county roads, the airport, the landfill, the fairgrounds and in some years, the animal shelter. He was instrumental in improving the roads and bridges including Nine Mile Canyon Road, building new fairgrounds structures such as the arena, the fishing pond, the dirt bike track, the model plane airport, the fire training structure, the baseball complex, the event center, senior center and a long list of other accomplishments. He aided in getting PILT monies for Carbon County and wrote grants for CIB monies. He accomplished all this while still teaching.
“Billy, dad, grandpa and friend to all, you will be sorely missed. We are so proud and thankful for your accomplishments!! Keep on hiking happy trails! “
Bill is survived by his wife, Joni Krompel, Price; two sons and one daughter, Kristopoher (Elise) Krompel, Park City, Rachael Krompel (Rhet), Nicholas Krompel, both of Price; four grandchildren, Draken, Ariana, Abriella and Ryker; two brothers and one sister, Ricky Krompel, Kerry (Damaris) Krompel, both of Price, Sherry (Todd) Larsen, St. George; also survived by many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and a community of friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, and brothers, Randy and Ronny Krompel.
Graveside service, Friday, October 9, 2020, 11:00 a.m., at the Cliffview Cemetery in Price. Family will receive friends at Mitchell Funeral Home Thursday evening from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home where friends are always welcome daily and may share memories online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net
