William Edward "Bill" LeMay, Sr.

William Edward LeMay, Sr., 90, of Iuka, MS, passed away peacefully February 23rd, 2026. He was born in Memphis, TN, on May 28th, 1935.

Bill graduated from South Side High School (Scrappers) in 1953 and was an active member of the Scrappers Club. He spent many years working hard to provide for his family through work with the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Ford Motor Company. Bill worked over 35 years for DuPont as a supervisor for electrical and instrumentation maintenance with expertise in chemical analyzers and process control, and later as an instrumentation consultant. Bill invested his time with his children and in their passions including being an assistant scout master with the Boy Scouts of America for nearly 10 years, coaching boys peewee baseball and girls softball, serving on the cheer booster, and running the McMinn County Band Booster Club. He was passionate in his protection of and advocacy for abused and neglected children and volunteered as an advocate through Court Appointed Special Advocates Corridor of East Tennessee for many years.

Bill loved music, singing, church choir, and serving as Choir Director at Georgian Hills United Methodist Church as well as providing comprehensive maintenance services to the church. He dedicated his time and efforts toward the cross erection on Hwy 72 as a part of the Tri-State Cross for Christ endeavor. He enjoyed fishing and hunting deer, vintage cars, tending his scuppernong vines and fruit trees, cooking like Emeril, and rooting and cultivating his roses. On any given day you could find him repairing most anything that needed fixing or working on a project in his shop. Bill had a shared mutual love with all of his dogs for all of his adult life. He adored and cherished time with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Bill will be remembered for the fierce love he had for his family, his dedication to his faith, his proficiency in fixing and finding solutions for practical problems, his thirst for knowledge, his awareness of political and current world events, and his passion for doing what he believed was right. His encouragement and willingness to lend a helping hand were gifts to everyone who knew him.

Bill is survived by his wife of over 41 years, Debra Clark Mann LeMay, of Iuka, MS, his four children, Steve (Becky), Greg (Bonny), Bill Jr. (Alisa), and Carrie LeMay, his six grandchildren: Lindsey Orr, Chelsea Peel, Brittany Bedard, Alexa Longoria, Chris LeMay, and Blake LeMay, and his seven great grandchildren. He is survived by his sisters-in-law, Elaine LeMay, Emily Mann Wooten, and Cheryl Mann Howell, and brother-in-law, John Bryson Mann (Reda). He was preceded in death by his parents John Luther LeMay and Carrie Agnes Pegram LeMay, as well as his siblings that included Ruth Jewel Wiseman, Caroline Louis Bobbitt, John Legget LeMay Jr., Margaret Ann Bickers, and his twin brother Robert (Bob) Louis LeMay.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Iuka Baptist Church, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A Celebration of Life ceremony will be arranged in the coming weeks.