Bill, or Will to some friends, was born December 20, 1950, in Roswell, New Mexico, while his father was stationed there during his time in the U.S. Air Force.
Bill later lived in Tazewell; Savannah, Georgia; and Nashville, Tennessee, where he graduated from Antioch High School in 1969.
He went to MTSU for a few semesters before he was drafted into the service during the Vietnam War. He joined the Air Force in 1971 and spent time in the Philippines, Guam, Thailand and various U.S. bases working on aircraft. He left the service in 1974.
He worked for the Army Corps of Engineers in Nashville for several years before moving to Southern California in the 1980s. He lived there off and on until 2014 when his work with Time Warner, now Charter Cable, took him to Dallas, Texas.
He retired in October 2021 and moved to Knoxville to live with his sister.
Bill loved God, his family and friends, his kitties and University of Kentucky basketball. He was also a big Yankees fan.
He is preceded in death by his father, William C. Shepherd, and his mother, Elizabeth Buis Shepherd.
He is survived by his sister and best friend, Cathy Shepherd, his loving friends and family, and his beloved cat, Willie.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to a Go Fund Me account to pay for his funeral expenses, https://gofund.me/c14f875b, or to Young Williams Animal Center in Knoxville.
The family will have a receiving of friends on Saturday, December 21, 2024, from 11:30 AM until 12 PM at Coffey Funeral Home. A short celebration of life will be held at 12 PM in the Coffey Funeral Home chapel. Burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery.
