William Wood "Bill" Hankins

William "Bill" Wood Hankins

William "Bill" Wood Hankins, 68, passed away suddenly at home Sunday, January 31, 2010.

Bill was born July 12, 1941, in Springfield, Illinois, to Wood E. and Sara Hankins. Bill's early childhood included spending time sailing with his family, growing up in New Orleans and Miami, ultimately graduating from Coral Gables High School, class of 1959. After graduating from Duke University in 1963, Bill joined the Navy, where he was a lieutenant for several years before leaving the Navy for private practice. As a Certified Public Accountant, Bill initially worked in Washington, D.C. for Ernst and Young, where he met and married Beverly Healy. In 1972, Bill received a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University. In 1975, they moved to Charlottesville, where they had two sons, Douglas and Brian. Bill worked at Amvest Corporation for more than 30 years, where he was the Senior Vice President Financial Planning before retiring in 2004.

Retirement allowed Bill to focus on the many things he enjoyed in life, including kayaking, traveling, sailing, history, genealogy, and community service. One of those enjoyments, kayaking, led Bill to join the Coastal Canoeists in 1991. It was through this that Bill met his beloved companion, Ann Lankey. Together Bill and Ann discovered that they had many of the same interests, including a never ending desire to explore new places and cultures. His family recalls many a fond memory where Bill and Ann would take that unexpected detour just to see what was around the next corner. Bill and Ann enjoyed spending time with their children and grandchildren, often making frequent trips to Washington, D.C. and Maine.

Bill explored the world, both through its history, spending countless hours conducting research on various topics including his favorite, genealogy, and through travel, visiting every destination imaginable, including the Galapagos Islands, Greece, and England. Just this last year, Bill and Ann finally took that long-planned trip to Alaska. Sometimes, though, he enjoyed just staying put and sailing his catamaran on the Outer Banks from his second home in Duck, North Carolina.

Bill enjoyed donating his time and energy to serve the community through his work with the Rotary, United Way, where he served on the executive committee, The Virginia Society of the War of 1812, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Jamestown Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Society of Colonial Wars, and Virginia Canals and Navigations Society.

He is survived by his two sons, William Douglas Hankins and his wife, Laura, and Brian Wood Healy Hankins; two grandchildren, Alexa and Evan; his ex-wife, Beverly Ann Hankins; his beloved companion, Ann Scott Lankey, and her daughters, Rebecca Lankey Blackmon and her son, Huit, and Kerin Lankey Mokarem and her husband, Shadi Mokarem, and their daughter, Leila.

Viewing will be conducted 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

A funeral service will be conducted 3 p.m. Thursday, February 4, 2010, at the Teague Chapel, with Reverend W. Ramsey Richardson officiating.

The family will receive friends from 4 until 6 p.m. Thursday, February 4, 2010, at Farmington Country Club. A private Interment will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to United Way-Jefferson Area, 806 East High Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.