William ‘Bill’ Udell McDaniel passed peacefully at his home Saturday, February 1. Bill was born August 16, 1954, to Troy ‘Butch’ McDaniel and Dorothy ‘Dot’ McDaniel. He was a lifelong, loud and proud Springfield Northsider. He attended Robberson Elementary, Reed Junior High and graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1972. Shortly after graduation he followed his Dad, brother Fred, and Grandad going to work at the Frisco Railroad. Many of the friends he made at the railroad have remained close friends throughout his life. Bill was a lifelong voracious learner with varied interests. He earned a certificate in cosmetology and loved cutting and styling hair. He was a gifted, self-taught artist and student of contemporary American art. He was an accomplished painter and sculptor and he designed and built exquisite items of furniture and decorative home furnishings. His work ranged from refurbished and repurposed furniture to original designs and constructions. He lived a fine line between collecting and hoarding, accumulating, brokering and selling a wide array of objects d’art and objects d’at-not-art. He had an eye and appreciation for interesting objects regardless of value. He enjoyed hanging and joking with friends and possessed a sense of humor as eclectic and unpredictable as his tastes in art objects. He found beauty and humor in some of the most unlikely places and people. Like many, Bill struggled off and on throughout his life with addiction and fought hard for clarity and sobriety. Bill is survived by son Tyson McDaniel of Springfield; two brothers Fred McDaniel and his wife Joyce of Jenks, OK, and Nello McDaniel and wife Mary Giudici of Brooklyn, NY; two nieces, Heather Dykes and her husband Garry and Grandniece Rileigh Dykes and Grandnephew Christian Dykes, and Melissa Bayless-Shaw and her husband Greg of Springfield. Bill is also survived by his dear companion and loving caregiver of the last year, Teri Stephens. And he is survived by his beloved African Grey Parrot, Rikki. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Bill’s name to American Cancer Society Missouri.
Funeral services will be at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 5, 2020, at Greenlawn Funeral Home North. Visitation will be one hour before services, from Noon to 1:00 p.m.