W. D. "Bill" Sasser

   W. D. “Bill” Sasser, 83, of Perkins, Oklahoma, passed away Monday, August 24, 2026 in Oklahoma City, OK from complications of pneumonia. Funeral services are scheduled for Monday, August 31 at 10:30 am in the Old Church at the Oklahoma Territorial Plaza, 750 N. Main Street, Perkins, OK. Interment will follow at the Perkins Cemetery.
   William Dow Sasser was born on May 16, 1943 to Boyd and Agnes (Ringgold) Sasser in Antlers, Oklahoma. A graduate of Perkins High School, he attended Oklahoma State University. While at Oklahoma State he married Virginia Roberts on December 25, 1961, in Perkins, Oklahoma.
Bill began working at Vassar Manufacturing Company and worked his way up to the front office as a bookkeeper/purchasing agent. He was a purchasing agent for Moore Business Forms from 1966 to 1968, and in September 1968 became purchasing agent for Swan Rubber Company overseeing construction of their facility in Stillwater.
   Bill began his nearly fifty year career in banking at Payne County Bank in May 1973. In April 1982, he left Payne County Bank to serve as a bank consultant, cleaning up troubled banks in the wake of Oklahoma's oil and gas bust in the 1980's. Those assignments took him to First National Bank in Carmen, Dewey County State Bank in Taloga, and First State Bank in Stroud.
From 1990 to 2005 he served as president of BancFirst Stroud.
   While at Stroud, Bill was instrumental in building a new post office for the community as well as bringing Tanger Factory Outlet Center to Stroud. He served as chairman of the Stroud Hospital Authority, overseeing the rebuilding of the facility after the May 3, 1999 tornado. Bill served on the Sac and Fox Economic Development Committee and was involved in starting two casinos. Upon leaving the committee he was presented a blanket and named an Honorary Chief of the Sac and Fox tribe. In recognition of his economic development efforts, Bill became the first person to be named Citizen of the Year twice by the Stroud Chamber of Commerce.
   In January 2005, Bill was tapped with the responsibility of building and opening a branch of Stroud National Bank in Perkins, and he served as President of the Perkins branch until the bank was sold and he retired in June 2021.
   Bill was a member of the Perkins Lions Club, as well as a charter member of the Perkins Chamber of Commerce. He retired from the Perkins Fire Department where he served as Chief, and also served on the Western Payne County Ambulance Trust Board. He was a member of the Perkins Masonic Lodge, and a sixty year member of the Scottish Rite in Guthrie. Bill was a long-time member of the Christian Church in Perkins. He attended Life Church in Stillwater in later years.
   Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Boyd and Agnes Sasser.
   He is survived by his wife, Virginia, of the home; children David Sasser (Leandro) and Robert Sasser (Kelley) of Perkins, and Betty Weitzel (Steve) of Weatherford, OK; grandchildren Trey Sasser (Allie) of Seattle, WA; John Sasser (fiancé Laci) and Emily Ramirez (Dylan) of Perkins, and Bethany Weitzel (fiancé Joey) of Weatherford, OK; two great grandchildren; and numerous friends and relatives.
   In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Oklahoma Territorial Plaza Endowment Fund, PO Box 667, Perkins, OK 74059, or the Virginia and Bill Sasser Endowed Nursing Scholarship at the Stillwater Medical Center Foundation, PO Box 2408, Stillwater, OK 74076.