William Riley “Bill” Bracewell

William Riley Bracewell, long-time Athens fixture and university student mentor, passed away on Friday, December 10. Born on December 12, 1938 to Annie Ruth and James Bracewell in Atlanta, GA, Bill grew up in the Little Five Points area and loved the excitement and amusements of Atlanta life. A mischievous red-headed child, Bill remembered fondly seeing a circus elephant in his backyard, kidnapping the “B” off the Bass High School sign, and conspiring with his little brother to find new ways to tease their sister.

His curiosity for knowledge and a quest for fun were never separated. His earliest academic accolades include winning the State Science Fair with a project on black widow spiders, keeping the enlarged photo of a spider hanging in the attic for years, much to the chagrin of his beloved wife, Camilla. During his time at Emory University, he recalled being selected to serve as Dooley and enjoyed releasing his fellow students from class. He recently was inducted into the Corpus Cordis Aureum, Emory’s alumni honor society for his lifelong support of the University.

Dean William Tate hired Bill in 1965 to work at the University of Georgia, and thus began Bill’s true passion in life – mentoring and working with students. From his early days working in Reed Hall to his late nights with the Student Judiciary to founding Leadership UGA, Bill often said that working with students kept him young. Bill worked to mentor all students whom he encountered and was known to coach them on their future over a cup of coffee.

Bill was particularly honored when a group of students approached him to join as a charter graduate member of the re-colonized Kappa Deuteron chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. The one-on-one relationships he built with young FIJI men in Athens and around the country through educational training sessions, annual conferences, and private lunch meetings have had a profound impact on many lives.

Bill retired from the university in 2000 and capitalized on his favorite hobbies to keep active in the Athens community. He loved his YMCA friends, hours spent volunteering at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and stocking shelves at Barnett’s newsstand, which he said helped pay for his gardening, reading, and coffee habits.

Family was most important to Bill, and he regularly thanked Dr. Louise McBee for hiring Camilla Hamilton, who became his wife on the first day of spring in 1971. They were the ultimate team for 51 years and enjoyed many adventures together, including trips around the world. When his daughter, Alison, was born, his excitement in becoming a Dad was obvious when he ran from St. Mary’s Hospital across Baxter Street to tell friends of his baby girl’s arrival. Their family of three loved summer trips to Hilton Head, FIJI Ekklesia, and hosting friends and students around their dining room table for meals filled with laughter, jokes, and stories. He was renowned for his best-ever waffles, which he said included his special ingredient of spider webs, and he created the “Summer Camp for Wayward Children” when they hosted a niece and nephew for a fun-filled week of activities. As their family expanded with his son-in-law Bryan, Bill’s greatest joy was his granddaughter, Adaline, with whom he had a special relationship from day one.

Bill is survived by his wife, Camilla; his daughter and son-in-law, Alison and Bryan McCullick; his granddaughter, Adaline McCullick; sister, Anne Ranne; brother and sister-in-law, John and Emily Bracewell; sister-in-law, Sharon Hamilton, nephew and nieces, Brian and Brenda Roebuck, Amy Bracewell, Amanda Bracewell, great nephews and niece, Hannah, Christopher, and Matthew Roebuck. The family would like to thank Bill’s wonderful caregivers who became family over these last two years: Dianne, Pam, Ty, Tricia, Ann, Mia, and Q, as well as Jessie, Lauren and Wendi.

Visitation will take place on Wednesday, December 15 at 1:00 pm at Bernstein Funeral Home, immediately followed at 2:00 pm by a Celebration of Life.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the Phi Gamma Delta Educational Foundation (Phi Gamma Delta Educational Foundation, P.O. Box 4599, Lexington, KY 40544 or https://www.phigam.org/MakeAGift; please note “in memory of Bill Bracewell) or the Bill and Camilla Bracewell Student Involvement Scholarship (University of Georgia Foundation, Attn: Gift Accounting, One Press Place, Athens, GA 30602 – please note “Bill and Camilla Bracewell Student Involvement Scholarship – or https://give.uga.edu/bracewell/)

Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.