William Lee Proffitt, Sr.

William Lee Proffitt, Sr., age 97, passed away on August 15, 2015 at Friendship Retirement Community, Roanoke, Virginia.Bill was born on November 7, 1917 in Roanoke, Virginia. He was preceded in death by his parents, Leonard Augustus and Bessie Lee (Bolton) Proffitt and his siblings, Elsie M. Proffitt, Inez V. Proffitt, Albert G. Proffitt, Sr. (Annette) and James L. Proffitt (Christine).He was also preceded in death by his wife of almost 66 years, Gladys Lolene (Young) Proffitt and his daughter, Margaret Susane Proffitt Berman.Bill is survived by his son, William L. Proffitt, Jr. (Linda) and daughter Betty Proffitt Gibson; four granddaughters, Heather Proffitt Tortola (Carl), Nicole Proffitt Hiegl (Eric), Cynthia Gibson Basham (Manuel) and Judith Catherine Gibson; five great grandchildren, Henry and Guilia Tortola, Rachelle, Cara and Brooke Basham; and several nieces and nephews.Bill was on active duty with the U. S. Military for 22 years, retiring as a 1st Sgt. with the U. S. Army, 416th Signal Corps in 1962. He was also in the 246th. Coast Guard Artillary activated in 1940. He served in Europe during World War 11 and in the Korean Conflict. After his retirement, Bill worked at General Electric Corporation and then opened P & Q Radio & TV Repair in Roanoke as co-owner.There will be a graveside service at Sherwood Memorial Park, Salem, Virginia on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 11:00 AM with The Rev. Charles Doyle officiating. Those wishing to make a memorial contribution, please consider National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI ? ROANOKE VALLEY), P. O. Box 20864, Roanoke, Virginia 24018-0087. Oakey?s North Chapel is handling all arrangements.