William Peter Midgley

William Peter Midgley, 86, passed away Thursday, November 9, 2023.  Born May 8, 1937, in Kansas City MO, Bill was the second of three children of Kenneth and Ingaborg Midgley. 

There will be a viewing at 1:00 pm with a funeral service at 2:00 pm on Monday, November 20th at  the Johnson County Funeral Chapel, 11200 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park KS, 66210. Burial will follow in Johnson County Memorial Gardens. 

William is survived by his wife of 45 years, Randi Midgley, their sons Gregory Midgley, Gordon Midgley (Dona), Wally Midgley; and their daughters Cynthia Schliecher (Scott),  Shelly Huntington (William), Sally Murphy (Mike), and Amy Midgley, and  also 26 grand-children and 31 great grand-children.  He is also survived by his older brother, Dr. James Midgley (Denise), and son-in-law Clayton Wells.

He is predeceased by his younger sister, Nelani Walker and her husband, Ronald Walker, as well as daughter Sherry Wells.

William attended Border Star Elementary School and Southwest High School in Kansas City MO and received his B. Arch from the University of Michigan School of Architecture and Design in 1960.  He was a Senior Associate with Kivett and Myers, one of the leading architectural firms in Kansas City in the 1960’s; and in 1972, William became a founding partner of Midgley Shaughnessy Fickel and Scott Architects (MSFS) located in downtown Kansas City.   William created his own firm in 1982, Midgley Associates Architects Inc, located on College Boulevard in Overland Park KS.  Bill and Randi lived there in Overland Park until they moved to a beautiful 40-acre equestrian ranch designed by Bill, which they called “WindSong” near Spring Hill KS in 1990.   

William was a founding partner in 1990 of Hansen Midgley Neimackl Architects (currently HMN Architects) in Overland Park KS from which he retired in 2010.  During that time, he served as architect on multiple projects for the Johnson County Community College (JCCC), the Shawnee Mission School District, the Kansas City Kansas Catholic Archdiocese, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the Midwest, the Jewish Congregation Temple B’nai Jehudah in Overland Park, KS (the largest and oldest Jewish congregation in Kansas City) and a variety of other commercial, industrial and educational clientele, including the Nestle Purina canine and feline R/D Center in St. Joseph MO.

In addition, William was active in community service including the Men’s Division of the Kansas City Philharmonic, a board member of the Kansas City KS Girl Scouts, a member of the KCMO Junior Chamber of Commerce, and co-chair of Some Enchanted Evening JCCC Foundation fundraiser. 

Upon moving to Jacksonville, FL in 2005, Bill helped to design the studio for the Korean Taekwondo of America school, one of the leading MA (martial arts) schools of the Southeast USA, where he also helped by publishing a monthly newsletter, and providing after-school rides for students.

In November 2020, Bill and Randi moved to Hopkinsville KY to be closer to family in Hopkinsville.

William was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) in 1946 at the age of nine after his father returned from Okinawa in WWII.   William served in most all local church callings over the years, including in four bishoprics and as Bishop of the Paola Ward, seven years as a Stake Executive Secretary in the Olathe Stake, and on four different High Councils in MO (1), KS (2) and FL (1).  He also served as a Seventy/Councilor/Stake Mission President (Ordained by Elder Bruce R. McConkie), and Sunday School teacher for all four years of the Gospel Doctrine class. 

All the above led to what William considered to be his greatest work- the writing of the book, The North America Model for the Book of Mormon, from Jerusalem to Cumorah, a geographic history of the Book of Mormon from beginning to end.  While the genesis of the book goes back 30 years, Page Publishing of New York coordinated with William to publish the book in 2020.