William W. Broyles

"Give me a problem and I'll hand you a solution." Those who knew William W. Broyles would agree that that motto accurately described him. William was a man of great drive and a very original, independent thinker. For William, no challenge was impossible, and just about any desired result was within his grasp. William placed great trust in his intuition. Since that intuition generally led him in the right direction, who was he to doubt it.

      William was born on October 17, 1937 at Greene County in Mohawk, Tennessee. He was the son of Agnes Pearl Daniels Broyles and Isaac Ernest Broyles. His childhood found him in Greene County where he matured into the independent person he eventually became.

      William grew up with two siblings. He had one younger sister, Karolyn Broyles Cunningham and one brother, Isaac Ernest Broyles II. William could be seen as being stubborn by his siblings. It was important to him that he was perceived as "right" when it came to his part in those typical family spats. However, this quality did not over power his caring for his family. This ability to balance his family, with his need to be seen as right, helped him to develop into a young adult while enjoying many good times with his family.

      During his grade school years, William was a very focused and serious student who actually enjoyed the challenge of many classroom problems. He was determined to succeed, and he drew upon his gifts of trust and perseverance to provide him with a competitive edge. William delighted in projects that required planning, critical thinking and resolution. William's memorable achievements included skipping eigth grade entirely and going on to highschool with friends.

      During high school, William was relentless in his pursuit of learning, especially in those subject areas that really grabbed hold of his interests. It wasn't that he didn't put forth his best efforts in all classes, but if a subject really interested him, he would eagerly put forth extra effort to learn all he could.

      William was loyal to his friends. He found that he was most in tune with people who had similar interests and thought about things much the way that he did. William sometimes had a tendency to be critical in his friendships but he was more interested in finding out what was right in a situation rather than in being mean toward others. He never intentionally set out to hurt any of his friends. William was a person who challenged others to fend for themselves and to be original in their thinking and evaluation of the outside world. While growing up, some of his best friends were Jeanne Cansler and James Allen Cansler. Later in life, he became friends with Sydney Thacker, Jack Miller and Mike Holland.

      On January 29, 1959, William exchanged wedding vows with Patricia Ann Reams at Rev. George William's house of Morristown, Tennessee. Patricia's sensitivity to William's needs proved to be a wonderful influence on this man, who preferred to live in his "gut." Patricia's influence brought William to a new emotional level, one that eventually enhanced all of his other gifts and abilities. Patricia was able to help William appreciate the fact that others made contributions and William became better at interacting with those around him. Because of this, William grew as a person.

      William often neglected his own feelings in order to give to others. This was very true when it came to how he dealt with his children. He was able to hand on to each child a number of strong values. He taught them to appreciate their abilities, gave them a desire to persevere despite obstacles and set within them a drive to succeed. He had four children, Samanthia, Joseph, David and Timothy. He also had seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, Eric Singleton, William, Michelle, Kasey, Jared, Leslie and Rachel Broyles and great-grandchildren, Caiden and Trinity. They were always aware of how much William loved them.

      During William's professional working years, he was at his best when working independently. It became the hallmark of his performance. William was generally able to refocus his drive and determination and readily work toward finding a way to get things done that was beneficial to himself and his co-workers. His primary occupation was electrician and construction.

      William was a U. S. Army veteran. William saw action in the Vietnam War. Through his hard work and dedication, he achieved the rank of E-5. He received several awards recognizing him for his heroism, including a Two Purple Hearts and Bronze Star.

      For William, his outside interests and hobbies became another exercise in learning and mastering areas that interested him. He greatly enjoyed unraveling the "hows" and "whys" that lay behind his hobbies. William was always pushing himself to learn more and to stretch his knowledge base even further. He firmly believed that the more things that he knew the more control he would have over things. His favorite pursuits were collecting kvives, gambling at Cherokee, shooting guns and watching his grandchildren play sports.

      Watching his favorite sporting events by himself was never a problem for William. It allowed him to indulge in his own individual interpretation of the event. It was not uncommon for William to know what the right play or move "should have been," and he would vocally address these feelings even if there was no one around to hear them. And if there were others around, he would still state his feelings and gladly debate anyone on their opposing views. He enjoyed following his favorite sporting events. Tops on his list were watching Lady Vols basketball.

      William was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of William's favorites was a terrier mix, Jack, a chow mix, Rascal and a miniature greyhound, Squirt. His family was rounded out by his two other dogs, Abner and Chester.

       He worked out many of the details in advance so that he could enjoy the time and not have to worry. In retirement, he found new pleasure in watching his grandchildren play sports and going to Cherokee.

      William W. Broyles passed away on January 17, 2010 at at home in Morristown, Tennessee. William battled heart disease and diabetes. He is survived by his wife; Pat Broyles, children; Sam, Joe, David and Tim, grandchildren; Eric, Jared, Will, Kasey, Leslie, Michelle, Rachel, great-grandchildren; Caiden and Trinity. Services were held at Stubblefield Funeral Home. William was laid to rest in Jarnigan Cemetery in Morristown, Tennessee.

      William W. Broyles was always drawn to what was measurable, practical and factual. He was a very competent person who expected competence from others. He could be headstrong and certain about the way things were suppose to be. He was determined in every aspect of his life and certain that he was usually right about things. He trusted his intuition over all else, even if it opposed the popular belief, and he had faith in his inner vision and speculations. He wanted to be acknowledged by others as having made a contribution to whatever he was working on. His family and friends will miss his fierce determination, relentless innovations and analytic mind. He leaves with all those who knew him many wonderful memories.