William Buckley

1922 - 2020

WILLIAM BUCKLEY William Buckley age 97, passed away Thursday, April 23, 2020. He was born in 1922 and grew up in southwest Virginia. Mr. Buckley was the son of Robert and Kathleen Buckley and was preceded in death by Evelyn, his wife of 60 years, who passed away June 2010. He is survived by his son Bill (Jan) Buckley of Athens, Georgia and daughter Kathy (Noell) Tillett of Durham, North Carolina. 'Pop' is also survived by five grandsons: Marc (Kristin) Tillett, Lee Tillett, Stuart (Kate) Buckley, Joshua (Jackie) Buckley, and Jonathan Buckley; seven great-grandchildren; English Jane, Evelyn "Evie" Mae, Ben, Brooks and William "Will" Buckley, and John and Owen Tillett. He served in the United States Marine Corps 1942-46. The discipline and focus he learned during that time had a lifelong effect on both his outlook and work ethic. His children and grandsons often heard 'Once a job has been begun, never stop until it's done!' Bill began college on a football scholarship at Milligan College for a year before his enlistment and played another year afterward, while studying at Emory and Henry College. He attended Virginia Tech (VPI at that time) his last two years and received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. After working in Evelyn's family's business in Virginia for a year, he joined J.P. Stevens in June of 1951 and began a 33-year textile career. Starting as a college trainee fixing looms, he would progress to a variety of supervisory positions, managing plants in Wallace NC, South Boston VA and Greensboro NC. At the time of his retirement in 1984, he was Vice President of the Knit Fabrics Division in Wallace NC. Retirement meant time to enjoy restoring vintage Mustangs, work with Habitat for Humanity and contribute as an active member of the Wallace Medical Village Board, Duplin General Hospital Foundation and the local BB&T board. He had time to visit relatives on a more frequent basis and enjoy a bit of travel. Bill continued to be an active member of Wallace Presbyterian Church and worked tirelessly on the Building Committee, but the project he was most pleased with was replacing the old steps with ones safer for seniors and children. At 96, Bill relocated from Wallace, NC to an assisted living facility in Athens GA. He enjoyed staff and residents while continuing to solve problems - which he really loved to do - by advising the maintenance crew with problems having to do with maintaining the gutters and working with them to improve the efficiency of their lighting system. He taught his family to be frugal whenever possible, to plan, save for the future, to love God and the United States of America. He also fixed things at our homes we didn't even realize were in need of attention... and sometimes we thought weren't, but he always wanted to help us and make improvements! The family thanks the many neighbors, church members and other friends from Wallace NC and other areas, for their support and kindness to both our parents over the years. Memorials suggested by the family are Habitat for Humanity, Alzheimer's Research Foundation, Wallace Presbyterian Church or a charity of your choice. Plans for a memorial service are incomplete at this time due to current COVID-19 restrictions.