Billy Thomas "B.T." Fowler

B.T. Fowler, 91, passed away peacefully on January 1, 2021 in Raleigh, NC. B.T. was born in Raleigh in the Old Rex Hospital on South Street. He lived in Raleigh all his life except for a two-year period in Richmond, VA. There, he met the love of his life, Edna (Maxine) Guthrie, whom he later married and shared 64 wonderful years together. They enjoyed family events, dining out, traveling and were avid collectors.

B.T. served in the Raleigh Fire Department for 35 years retiring as a Captain. He was active in the creation of the NC Fire Marshals’ Association. In retirement he remained involved in Fire Education, volunteering on the NC Fire and Life Safety Council well into his 80s. The B.T. Fowler Lifetime Achievement Award is given in his honor at their annual meeting. On his 90th birthday he was the recipient of the Guardian Award from the NC State Fire Marshal in recognition of decades of outstanding service and commitment.

B.T. was a faithful member of Creedmoor Road Baptist Church for 51 years where he served as a deacon, Sunday School teacher and choir member. He volunteered as a docent at the NC State Capitol Building. He was a member of the Inaugural Board of the Raleigh City Museum, and one of his proudest accomplishments was co-authoring “A History of Raleigh in Postcards” with Norman Anderson.

He is survived by daughter Ann M. Fowler; son Earl F. Fowler and his wife Janice; granddaughter Carla Fowler Propst and her husband Brian; great-granddaughter Kayla P. Crysel and her husband Nathan; his nephew, cousins and many friends.

B.T. was preceded in death by his parents William and Vonnie Fowler, brother Charles Fowler and wife Edna M. Fowler.

The family wishes to thank Pastor Don Cashwell and the caregivers and staff of Falls River Village and Wake Med Hospital for the excellent care and attention he received.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Creedmoor Road Baptist Church, 6001 Creedmoor Rd, Raleigh, NC 27612 or The North Carolina Firefighters’ Burned Children Fund, Shane Pethel, Treasurer, c/o Kannapolis Fire Dept., 401 Laureate Way Kannapolis, NC 28081

Funeral services will be held graveside at Raleigh Memorial Park, 7501 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, NC on Wednesday the 6th at 2:00pm. There will be no visitation and masks will be required. For those unable to attend, the service will be recorded and posted to the Facebook Page of Mitchell Funeral Home at Raleigh Memorial Park.

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