William Edward Meeks Sr. (Bill Meeks) passed away quietly in peaceful rest of natural cause on Saturday morning at his home with family members to comfort him. He was 89. Bill was born in Jacksonville, Florida on 10 September 1928 to Bryant Adams Meeks Sr. and Lola Leona Alderman Meeks of Plant City Florida. Both parents and an older brother; Bryant Adams Meeks (Junior) of Macon preceded Mr. Meeks in death. Also preceding Mr. Meeks in death was a grandson Ashley Joseph Pittman. Mr. Meeks was also preceded in death by infant son David Martin Meeks in 1951.

The Meeks family would like to extend a warm gratitude to the staff of Integrity Hospice of Dublin who exceeded in fulfilling the needs of our beloved and the entire family.

Mr. Bill Meeks' humble legacy in family, Georgia Education, and athletics is survived by all the lives he touched and influenced along the way of dedicated service supporting his loved ones and many individuals; whether in classroom teaching, faculty administration, and sports spanning six decades following an honorable discharge as a 1st Lieutenant in1953 from the United States Army. Mr. Meeks began coaching in 1953 in Forsyth at Mary Persons High School while still on duty in the military. Following five seasons at Forsyth, Bill moved his young family of three to Douglas, Georgia. He taught and coached football at Coffee County High School until 1961 when he moved his growing family of five back to his home of Macon, Ga. where he began teaching and coaching football and track at his alma mater; Lanier High School. After gaining valuable experience working with administrators, teachers, and head football Coaches Cotton Harrison and Jim Nolan and the esteemed list of other assistant coaches at Lanier, Bill transferred across town to the newly formed Mark Smith High School where he would again be an assistant for his beloved friend Coach Minton Williams who had left Dublin High School to direct a fine group of high school football coaches; all of which had been successful head coaches or would become head coaches in the Georgia High School Association and GISA. Mr. Meeks would complete his Master Degree in High School Administration while at Mark Smith and begin a new season of leadership as assistant principle for two years and then assumed the job of principle of Mark Smith during school integration when the school became Northeast High School. Bill left Northeast in the spring of 1971 accepting the position of Headmaster for Jonesco Academy in Gray Georgia where he was influential in starting a football program and fell deeply in love with the entire community of Jonesco. In 1975 Mr. Meeks would move his family to Dublin from Gray and settle in to the community of Laurens County that he would call home for the duration of his life. From 1975 until 2008 Mr. Meeks would work for the Laurens County Board of Education, East Laurens High School, Trinity Christian School, West Laurens High School and a brief coaching duty for WLMS girls basketball; he also had an opportunity in assisting coach Barney Hester and Tattnall Square Academy to a State football championship in 1988. Note: (The list of persons who influenced daddy or whom he influenced during his lifetime is overwhelmingly extensive and our entire family is eternally grateful for all of them; since it is impossible to name them all we would like to say thank you to everyone in a collective manner for being an intricate and cherished member of our beloved Bill Meeks' life on earth).

Surviving Mr. Meeks is his wife of 65 years Mary Elizabeth Deloney Meeks; Daughter Carole Denise Meeks(Aaron Butler); daughter Patricia Anne Meeks(John Woodard); son Billy Meeks(Bernadette Gloria Montez Meeks); four grandsons: David Wade Pittman(Erin Cook Pittman); William Edward Meeks III(Heather Krone) Anthony Angelo Cariglia; Brian Campbell(Dawn Campbell); Mathew Joseph Meeks(Kristin Piland Meeks) four granddaughters: Pamela Anne Woodard Howell(Byron Howell); Shannon Nicole Meeks Green(Jarvis Antione Green); Margaret Elizabeth Woodard; Brett Louisa Woodard Reed(Cameron Jack Reed); twelve great grandchildren: William Edward Meeks IV, Davis Tanner Meeks, Alexis Dakota Meeks, Hunter Bryant Meeks, Asher Wade Meeks, Quino D'Alvy Green, Konner James Meeks, Layla Jaye Green, Chloe Brooke Meeks, Katharine Elena Meeks.

David Pittman, Will Meeks, Matt Meeks, and Brian Campbell, will serve as Pallbearers.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Ben Snipes, Bob Walker, Sonny Marsh, Grady Pittman, Bill Rowe, Hugh Kight, Eddie Morris, George Knight, Stan Couey, Ray Harwell, Ben Cochran, Walker Knowles, Bobby Jackson, and Tom Perry.

A graveside service will be held at Riverside Cemetery North Gate in Macon on Tuesday October 3, 2017 at 11:00 A.M. Townsend Brother Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Please visit www.townsendfuneral home.com to sign the online memorial registry.