William N. Dawson

William (Bill) N. Dawson, 93, died peacefully Thursday, February 20, 2009. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 12, 1915, Bill's life was anything but peaceful or pedestrian, for Bill embraced the spirit of action in everything he said and did. Punctuated by success and derring-do, Bill's life was a grand adventure in which he sought opportunity and excitement at every turn. After graduating with an engineering degree from Yale University in 1938, Dawson served in the navy as Lt. JG during WWII before marrying Marian Boomer in 1941. He subsequently became a sales manager for the Electric Welding Division at Chemitron in Chicago. In 1952, Bill Dawson formed Tyler-Dawson Supply Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his friend Bob Tyler. A refinery and heat-exchanger supply company, Tyler-Dawson eventually ranked as one of the top-five companies of its type in the world.
When the entrepreneurial pair sold the company at the height of the oil boom in 1979, Bill Dawson didn't have to look far for new challenges. An interest in travel, photography, and gadgetry inspired him to produce a four-minute experimental film about icicles melting, leading to a first-prize award at the Chicago International Film Festival. This achievement led to another successful business €“ Tulsa Studios €“ a motion picture and recording studio that garnered over a hundred international and national film awards. Dawson was fortunate enough to work with such luminaries as Francis Ford Coppola, Roy Clark, Aaron Copeland, the Oak Ridge Boys, and Leon Russell, among others. Bill was the producer and one of the leading cinematographers in the film division of his company.
Besides his business accomplishments, Bill also served on over a dozen boards and organizations, including Western Bank, The American Heart Association, The Center for the Physically Limited, and the Tulsa Zoo, as well as being a member of the Downtown Rotary Club. In 1993, Bill got involved with his daughter and son-in-law, Mark and Tina Rollins to found Christ for Humanity (CFH), a humanitarian relief organization that provides medical supplies, food, clothing and household items to the poor both locally and worldwide.
Bill will be remembered not only for his inspiring sense of humor and spirit of adventure, but for his integrity and generosity in his business and personal life. These guiding principles governed a life that was well lived €“ and anything but ordinary.
Bill Dawson was preceded in death by his parents Roe Adolphus and Anna Dawson, his brother John, son Mark LaBree Dawson, and his wife of 67 years, Marian Boomer Dawson. He is survived by his son, William N. Dawson, Jr.; daughters, Christina Dawson Rollins and husband Mark, Mary Ann Dawson-Sutherland and husband Philip; grandchildren, Matthew T. Rollins and wife Laura, Christopher Blake Rollins, Melinda Rider and husband Doug, Karl Norman Kriegh; and great-grandson Jonah Michael Rollins.
Services will be held at 10:00a.m. on Saturday, February 28th at Memorial Park Chapel, 5111 South Memorial Drive. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be made to Christ for Humanity.
Arrangements were entrusted to Daniel C. Schaudt of Schaudt's Glenpool Funeral Service & Cremation Care. Family and friends may view the obituary and send condolences to the family online at www.schaudtfuneralservice.com