PARKVILLE, Mo. – William Breen Turley, 82, of Parkville, Missouri, passed away peacefully on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in North Kansas City Hospital.
Breen was born in Waynesville, North Carolina, on June 21, 1942, to Ralph Hicks Turley Jr. and Rachel Kate Donaldson Turley. He married Barbara Jo Klinkhardt in August, 1968.
Together, they raised one son, Stephen Breen Turley. In his early years the family lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and Clarksburg, West Virginia. In 1953, after his father took a job with Saudi ARAMCO, Breen and his family moved to Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia.
He attended middle school at an ARAMCO school in Abqaiq and the first two years of high school at American Community School Beirut, Lebanon. He described these years as an incredible adventure and learning opportunity, often sharing stories of his time in the Middle East. Many of the friendships made in those years have lasted a lifetime.
During their time in Saudi Arabia, his family was able to visit 14 countries. He expressed a desire to return to Saudi Arabia to see how it developed and revisit Cyprus for its beauty. They returned to the States in 1958 and settled in Memphis, near his father’s family.
He finished high school at Memphis Central. Following high school, he followed his brother, Ralph, to the University of Tennessee, graduating with a business degree. His career included stints at Brown and Williamson, Block Drug, USS Agri-Chemicals and United Coatings.
The majority of his car.