William C. "Bill" Mooney

1936 - 2020

William "Bill" C. Mooney

William [Bill] C. Mooney, Jr. of Franklin, TN, died November 26, 2020, in Franklin, TN. He was 84 years old. Born September 7, 1936, in Bluefield, West Virginia, he was the son of W. C. Mooney and Hallie Harvey Mooney. He began public school in West Virginia and graduated from J. I. Burton High School in Norton, Virginia. He earned degrees at Emory and Henry College [Bachelor of Arts] and Emory University [Master of Divinity].

He was a United Methodist pastor, having retired from Holston Annual Conference in 2000. He served churches in southwest Virginia and east Tennessee. Included in the latter are Trentville, in Knox County; Burlington and Inskip in Knoxville; Kern Memorial [as associate pastor] and First United Methodist in Oak Ridge [as counseling pastor and then as visitation pastor after he retired]; and St. Luke in Chattanooga. With his wife, Sylvia, he was commissioned a United Methodist missionary in 1991, and they served the English Speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna, Austria for six years. He liked to say about that assignment, "It was a tough job, but someone had to do it."

He loved being a husband and father, a pastor, and enjoyed interactions with people. Reading and telling jokes were favorite past-times. Special joys of his retirement years were doing pet therapy with beloved dogs Sam and Topsy, participating in three mission trips to Honduras with teams from First United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge, serving as Tail Twister in the Oak Ridge and Donelson Lions Clubs, doing poetry readings and "laugh therapy" at Provision Living retirement community, writing poems, and writing weekly prayers for Andrew Price Memorial United Methodist Church now, Connection UMC.

He is survived by his wife of 62 ½ years, Sylvia; son John Mark Mooney, daughter-in-law Donna, of Madison MS and grandson James of Moraine, OH; daughter Melanie Anne Mooney of Franklin, TN; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters, Helen Thacker and Virginia Nobel.

Due to the circumstances of the pandemic a memorial service will be held at a later date yet to be determined. His body was donated to Vanderbilt University. Memorial gifts may be made to First United Methodist Church, 1330 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 and designated for the Mooney Pastoral Visitation Fund or current mission trips; to the MYSN-Hospice Fund at Willowbrook Hospice, 235 Noah Drive, Suite 300, Franklin, TN 37064; or to the church or charity of your choice.