William R. ‘Bill’ Bottoms J
r.
William R. (Bill) Bottoms Jr. passed away Sept. 4 at home in Golden Valley, Ariz. Bill was born July 29, 1961, in Malakoff to William R. and Johnnie L. Bottoms. Bill was married to Amanda Latham on Aug. 8, 1981, in Groesbeck. Bill and Amanda moved to Vanceburg, Kent., in 1996 and lived there until 2006. In 2006, they decided they were tired of the cold and snow, and they moved to Golden Valley.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents; a stillborn son, William Bartley Bottoms; a stillborn daughter, Alisha Diane Bottoms; his mother-inlaw, Wanda Latham; and other extended family.
Bill is survived by his wife of 42 years, Amanda; brother-in-law, Raymond Latham and wife, Candy of Bellmead; sister-in-law, Julie Higgins and husband Jess of Denison; sister-in-law, Stephanie Stevenson of Houston. He is also survived by nieces, Jordan Higgins of Denison; Chasitie Oden and Misty Latham of Waco; nephews, Joshua Higgins and wife Shyanne of Denison and Brandon and Bryan Stevenson of Houston and great-nieces and -nephews, Camryn Oden, Brody and Riley Parker, of Waco, and Julianne Fae Higgins of Denison.
Bill worked at Jerry Coleman Ford in Groesbeck for many years as an ASE Certified Master Technician. He was a very good mechanic. He worked as a mechanic in Kentucky and for a little while in Arizona, but his last job was with a FedEx contractor. Bill really enjoyed all his jobs and the people he met along the way. He retired a couple of times.
Bill was a hobby enthusiast, and he could do anything he set his mind to and was a life-long learner. His passions were broad, from racing RC cars with Jim Cook to racing drag bikes in Texas and Kentucky. He gave up drag racing in Arizona because the closest track was in Las Vegas. He tried his hand at gold mining, but really found his passion in woodworking. He made pens, wooden mason jar lids, and rings. He made coin rings, turquoise rings and even some inlaid with wood. On Saturdays, he and Amanda could be found at the local farmers market to sell his items and Amanda would sell her ceramics. They always had a contest to see who would sell the most each week. Of course, Bill won most of the time. This past summer he started making homemade yeast cinnamon rolls and pecan sticky buns to sell and of course, these sold out just about every week.
Bill built the house in Arizona from the ground up; the only thing he did not do was pour the concrete for the foundation. He did all the rest, mostly from reading books and figuring out how to do things as he went along. He would laugh and say, well I am getting good at laying tile and now it is time to learn something new.
There will be a graveside service for Bill at Salem Cemetery in Freestone County at 2 p.m. Nov. 19. Ronnie Tanner, long-time friend will lead the service, but anyone who would like to share their memories of Bill will be asked and encouraged to do so.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Bill’s name to the Salem Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 105, Teague, Texas 75860 or the charity of your choice.
