Bill Overstreet

William D. Overstreet was an American teacher, administrator, and politician. He served as the mayor of Juneau, Alaska, from 1976 to 1983. He was born and raised in Waynoka, Oklahoma. He died in Sun City West, Arizona, on April 8, 2013, at the age of 86.

Early life Bill Overstreet was born on May 1, 1926, in Waynoka, Woods County, Oklahoma, to Henry Harrison and Mary Ellen Overstreet. In 1942, at the age of 17, he quit school, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was ordered to serve on the , where he was involved in the Aleutian Islands Campaign, going ashore at Adak, and the Battle of the Pips. He manned a 20-millimeter machine gun on the Portland's deck. Overstreet was discharged from the Navy in 1942, after which he returned to Waynoka, earned his GED, and enrolled at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma. While attending the university, he married Jean Perry on May 25, 1947. They had one son, William Overstreet, Jr. After Overstreet graduated in 1951, his family moved to Colorado, where he worked as a history teacher at Huerfano County High School in Walsenburg.

Near the end of his time as mayor, Overstreet planned to retire, but after participating in a Chamber of Commerce event, he was given the opportunity to represent Alaska in Tokyo as a Trade Representative. He and his wife, Jean, moved to Tokyo, where he worked for a few years.

During his last few years, Overstreet contributed his time and effort to support local projects, including the Whale Project, which is a bronze statue of a breaching humpback whale.