William Burdette Sompayrac

William (Bill) Burdette Sompayrac, age 84, passed away at the Grand Junction VA Medical Center on August 31, 2023 after a long battle with cancer.  He was born July 24, 1939 in Chicago, IL to the late William and Charlotte Sompayrac.  

His family moved to Boulder, CO in the 1950s where Bill graduated high school and enjoyed cruising around town in his hotrods.  After high school, Bill joined the United States Air Force where he served as Airman Second Class while stationed at numerous posts around the world.  After serving his country, Bill returned to Colorado where he spent several years developing his business skills working in various sales positions in the Rocky Mountain region.  During this time, he married Shannon Henke on July 13, 1968 and in the coming years they had their only child Brian while living in Denver, CO.  Bill and Shannon then moved to Evergreen, CO before they took to their entrepreneurial spirit and jumped headfirst into the furniture business by purchasing a furniture store in Longmont, CO which led to them eventually owning six furniture stores across Colorado.  Bill loved the furniture business and even continued working in it after “retirement” while living in Las Vegas, NV.  Bill and Shannon slowly made their way back to Colorado – spending a year in St George, UT.  Finally, moving to Fruita, CO to be closer to Shannon’s parents.  

While living in Fruita, Bill spent several years working as an ambassador for Nutro pet food company allowing him to exercise his passion for helping animals and meeting new friends on a daily basis.  He was a huge dog lover and adopted numerous four-legged friends throughout his life and even came to love cats when he rescued an abandoned kitty in Fruita, CO who became another loved family addition.  Bill was also an over-the-top car fanatic to put it lightly.  Owning countless cars over the years with his real passion being the classic 1950s Thunderbirds and eventually Datsun Z-cars when his son purchased one and he followed suit and helped his son found the Nevada Z Car Club in Las Vegas.   Bill, Shannon, and Brian loved spending time as a family enjoying car related activities and participating in numerous car club events – locally and nationally.  Up until the very end he kept the dream alive by always looking for that next special automobile. 

Bill was preceded in death by his parents William and Charlotte Sompayrac.  He is survived by his spouse Shannon Sompayrac, son Brian (Sherry) Sompayrac, sister Judy Whisker, brother Russell Sompayrac, and his cherished pets – Shep and Miss Boots. 

Bill will be sorely missed as a husband, father, sibling and friend.            

Memorial Services will be at a later date at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado - date and time will be updated when available.

Please consider making a memorial contribution in Bill Sompayrac’s name to Grand Rivers Humane Society (www.grandrivershumane.org) or CLAWS Cat Rescue (www.clawsgj.org).