William James (Bill) Hamblin passed away suddenly from a cardiac event in Frisco, Texas on the afternoon of December 10, 2019 at the age of 65. He was born on December 1, 1954 in Ann Arbor, Michigan to William Kenneth Hamblin and Sarah Ann Peterlein. He grew up in Provo, Utah where he developed a love of travel and learning from a young age thanks to his father who had the same spirit of exploration. Bill was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His knowledge of the Book of Mormon and other scriptures was vast and comprehensive. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy from 1973-75.
Bill had a lifelong love of learning and teaching. He graduated from Provo High School and received his bachelor’s degree in history from BYU, and Ph.D. in Middle Eastern History from the University of Michigan in 1985. He joined the History faculty of Brigham Young University in 1989 where he was recognized as a specialist in Near Eastern history and the Crusades. He taught at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies several times. He is the author of dozens of academic articles and several books, including World History to 1648, co-authored with Jay Pascal Anglin (HarperCollins, 1993) and Solomon’s Temple: Myth and History, co-authored with David Seely (Thames and Hudson, 2007). In the Fall of 2010 his first novel was published: The Book of Malchus, co-authored with Neil Newell (Deseret Book, 2010). He also wrote the chapters on “Palestine and the Arabs” and “Medieval Palestine and the Crusades” for the BYU Jerusalem Center Ancient Near East textbook: A Bible Reader’s History of the Ancient World (2016).
Bill married Loree Peay on August, 2, 1977. Together they had three children: Ken, Karen, and Alex. They later divorced. Bill married Laura Behling Schroeder on February 19, 2019. Bill adored his grandchildren and family and was known to always send funny videos showcasing his new gadgets, latest adventures, and—most importantly—hauntingly beautiful renditions of ‘Happy Birthday’. After Bill retired from BYU he set off to explore the world and all its natural and man-made beauty. He was a skilled photographer and captured many wonders of the world through his travels.
(Taken from his obituary)