William Biggs

1941 - 2022

William Biggs
May 9, 1941 - December 8, 2022
Fort Worth, Texas - William Renshaw Biggs ("Bill") passed away on Thursday, December 8, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. He was 81 years old.
Bill was born in Springfield, Missouri on May 9, 1941, though he spent virtually his entire childhood and life in Fort Worth, Texas. He most certainly considered himself a Native Texan and Native Fort Worthian. He was the only child to Aileen and Albert Biggs. who prior to his birth had moved from Missouri to work for the railroad. Bill grew up in a small red-chimney home on El Campo between Pershing and Montgomery in West Fort Worth.
Bill was a brilliant man and exceptional student. He graduated as the Valedictorian from Arlington Heights High School in 1959. He then did it again in college, graduating from TCU (BS in Commerce) as the Valedictorian of the 1963 Class. While at TCU he was a proud member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. Bill then obtained an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin in 1965 with a perfect GPA.
Following school, Bill became a Certified Public Accountant and passed all four parts of the CPA Exam on his first attempt. Bill had a long and distinguished career as an accountant in Fort Worth. He first worked for Arthur Anderson as a CPA in the 60s before moving to Arthur Young for 14 years. At Arthur Young, he was a partner and head of the auditing practice in Fort Worth. Bill then became CFO of Interfirst Bank in the mid 80s before becoming a solo practitioner for the remainder of his career. During the latter part of his career, Bill was the President of Coastal Plains Energy, a small oil and gas exploration company founded by his father in law, Fred. S. Reynolds. Bill served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Society of Public Accountants.
Bill was a loving and devoted husband to his wife Ann Reynolds Biggs for more than 42 years. Ann and Bill were married on September 6, 1980 at the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, the church where they not only met but have been lifelong members. Bill and Ann had twin boys, Christopher Norman Biggs and William Reynolds Biggs, now aged 41.
Bill served as an Elder at First Presbyterian Church during the 90s, and it was in that capacity that Bill assisted in the foundation of the James L. West Center for Dementia Care. Almost thirty years later, Bill spent the final year of his life at the James L. West Center, having battled Alzheimers for the last decade of his life.
Bill loved the finer things in life-gourmet dining, elegant wine, classical music, and TCU Football. In the classical music sphere Bill particularly loved the Russian Romantics for their passionate, virtuosic piano concertos. Bill served for many years on the Executive Committee of the Van Cliburn Foundation. As an accountant, he participated in certifying the results for a number of the Van Cliburn Piano Competitions through the years. He was briefly mentioned in the New York Times in 1981 for his service in this role and Bill would proudly joke that he at least had a footnote in the history books.
Bill had TCU Football season tickets for nearly 50 years before passing them on to his son. He traveled around the country to road games and bowls with his family into his late 70s. He had been excited to learn just days before his death that the Frogs had finally made the playoff this year.
Bill was a hard-working, kind, loving man. He could be quite funny when you least expected it and never said anything that wasn't the absolute truth. More than anything, he was a devoted husband and father. He would have loved to have spent a few more years with us and we share the sentiment.
Bill is survived and sorely missed by Ann, Chris, William, and Jessica, his daughter in law. He is also survived and missed by his three grandchildren, Merrill (7), William Ronald (5), and Maxwell (21 months).
On December 29, 2022, Bill's ashes were laid to rest in the memorial garden at First Presbyterian Church in a small family service. A public memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church on January 4, 2023 at 10 a.m.
If desired, memorial donations may be made to the TCU Neeley School of Business or the Van Cliburn Foundation.