William Willis Gwin III (Bill) passed away on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, after a tough battle with lung cancer. He was 68 years old. Bill was born in Greenwood, MS, on January 30, 1953, to William Willis Gwin Jr (Billy) and Urvie Eunice McCaleb (Cookie).
Bill came of age during the Beatles craze, men with long hair, the Vietnam draft, and Woodstock. He had the most beautiful long hair, the kind every woman craved. His high school principal disapproved however and tried to force Bill to cut his hair. Bill tried every compromise from grease to wigs, but without success. He went down to the department of education, took the GED, passed, and never looked back.
Bill was the light of his family and friends, always the favorite, and a force to be reckoned with. He commanded a room with his cool factor; his joie de vivre was infectious. He captured everyone’s heart with his personality and charisma. Bill made friends for life. His Homewood Hoods buddies will testify to that, forever friends to this day.
Bill was also a man of integrity and insisted on doing what was right, in life, at work, and amongst friends and family. You could always count on Bill to be honest and truthful with you.
He enjoyed golf, hunting, fishing, Alabama football, the company of his family and friends, and seeing the joy on his grandchildren’s faces.
Bill attended Troy University in Troy, AL, for a year but found that he preferred learning by doing rather than by studying in books. Let’s be clear. He enjoyed the fun parts of college too.
He left Troy University at the end of his freshman year, went to work for a mapping company in Birmingham, and enrolled in math and technical courses at night. He joined Southern Company Services after that, where he learned to draft. Ultimately, he got into piping design and worked his way up the ladder with various large engineering corporations across the United States.
Bill never did anything small, so it is no surprise that he became an expert in his field by grit, determination, and insisting on a quality of work unsurpassed by many. He retired in 2017 from Ford Bacon and Davis as senior piping designer and resident piping design expert.
Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Catherine, his father, Billy, and his mother, Cookie. He is survived by his daughter Erin, his grandchildren Jackson, Cohen, and Sage, his brother Kenn, his sisters Anne and Deb, his stepchildren Katie and Patrick, and various cousins, nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, July 10, 2021, at 2 pm at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 611 Riverchase Parkway West, Hoover, AL, 35244. Reception following. Masks are encouraged, especially for the unvaccinated, but not required. For those unable to attend, there will be a live feed of the service on the church Facebook page.
See you on the other side.
