William Porter Biddle III

William Porter Biddle III, 86, of Athens passed away peacefully at his home on July 9, 2023. Bill, as he was known, was born in Knoxville on Oct. 15, 1936. His family settled in Athens in 1954, where he attended and played basketball for two years at McMinn County High School. After high school, he graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a law degree. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, William Porter Biddle Jr. and Euretta Doar Biddle; and his beloved daughter, Marian Davis Biddle Trew. He was also preceded in death by sister, Sally Biddle Bartlett, and her husband, Richard Bartlett; and brother-in-law, Ralph Garrison Davis Jr. Bill is survived by his wife of 65 years, Judith Faye Davis Biddle; brother, Thomas D. Biddle; son-in-law, H. Chris Trew (Renee); grandchildren, Sydney Lauren Trew (Ben), Caitlin Trew Johnson (Matt), William Cullen Trew (Katie), Hannah Grayson Weston (Rae) and Brent Grayson; and great-grandchildren, Cohen Ross Trew, William Paxton Trew, Ily Marian Johnson and Harris Christopher Weston. He is also survived by his niece, Kristy Bartlett Wiggins, and nephew, Thomas Graves Bartlett, and their families. Bill started his law career in Athens in 1960 with Kenneth Higgins, later adding Fredrick Chester and H. Chris Trew. He was elected as a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention of 1972. Throughout his life, he contributed to numerous organizations, serving on the boards of First National Bank and Trust of Athens (now Truist), Citizens National Bank of Athens (now Simmons Bank), E.G. Fisher Public Library, the Athens-McMinn Family YMCA, Athens Area Council for the Arts and the Charter Committee of the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum. He was an active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, having served on the Vestry and many committees. He was a founding member and secretary of the Board of Directors of the Grace House in Athens. Bill loved spending the summers in his backyard gardening and enjoying the pool with friends and family. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 13, at 1:30 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Athens with the Rev. Mother Claire Brown officiating. Smith Funeral Home of Athens is in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be made in Bill's memory to St. Paul's Episcopal Church and the Athens Arts Center. Special thanks to all his friends, his caregiver, Elizabeth Evans, and the medical community for their support of Bill in recent months.