John William Demory

John William (Bill) Demory, Sr., 74, of Phoenix, AZ, died peacefully on February 14 from prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his beloved wife Barbara Breeze, two sons John Jr. (Breyonne) and Joe (Abby), and two daughters Kate (Craig) and Andrea (Justin), and fourteen grandchildren (seven boys and seven girls - ages 20 to 8), two step-children Angela Breeze (Paul) and Ryan (Sara) Breeze, and one brother Stan (Darlene) Demory.

Bill was born and raised in Indianola, Iowa. He was the youngest of three boys to Glenn Warren Demory and Pauline Ethel (Wood) Demory. He had two older brothers; Steve (five years older) who died in 2021 and Stan (three years older).

He moved to Phoenix as a freshman at Cortez High School, where he was a three-sport athlete. One of his proudest accomplishments in high school was a basketball record for Division 5A schools which still stands today for having the most free throws in a single game of (24 of 27 attempts). After high school, he went to the University of Arizona on a football scholarship and was the starting quarterback for three years.

After graduating with a degree in Public Administration, he spent the next two years with the New York Jets as a backup quarterback. He was the starting QB for three games, two of which they won. At the start of his third year, they “politely asked me to go home” (a nice way of saying he was “cut” or put on waivers). No other teams claimed him, so he decided it was time to “go work for a living.”

For the next sixteen years, Bill was an account executive for Haggar Apparel Company in Iowa and Illinois. Out of boredom at the end of his tenure, he went to grad school at the University of Iowa and earned an MBA. Not knowing what to do with this new degree, someone suggested he could teach at the local community college and he decided to try this new adventure. After teaching business classes at Sauk Valley College in Dixon, IL for two years, he was hooked on teaching and decided to switch professions.

After his four kids graduated from high school in Sterling, IL, Bill returned to Arizona and got a full-time teaching position at Arizona Western College teaching Economics (Macro and Micro). After two years, he and his beautiful Barbara were married, they moved to Casa Grande and he taught at Central Arizona College (CAC) for 20 years. Barbara taught 32 years in elementary education at Paradise Valley School District, and she is still teaching at CAC (18 years).

Bill held a B.S. in Public Administration from the University of Arizona, an MBA from the University of Iowa, and an M.A. in Economics for Educators from the University of Delaware.

He was a member of WELS Lutheran churches for 25 years, including Salem in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Grace in Casa Grande. For the latter two churches, he served in various council positions, including President, Vice-President, and Recording Secretary. He also served as an Advisory Board member for the Salvation Army corps in Sterling, IL and Casa Grande, AZ.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Concussion Legacy Foundation at https://www.classy.org/give/312896/#!/donation/checkout or to the Paradise Valley Lutheran Church - Capital Improvement Fund at https://www.pvlutheran.org/page/online-giving.

A memorial service and luncheon will be held at Paradise Valley Lutheran Church, 14845 N. 40th St., Phoenix, AZ on March 1, at 10:30 am.

(This obituary was written by Bill on 1-17-25)